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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE BIBLE 



Its Own Vindicator. 



Seven Subjects in the Bible Explained 
by Itself, 



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BY CrA. BSTABROOK 




DAYTON, OHIO: 

JOURNAL BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE. 

1887. 



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ENTERED ACCORDING TO AN ACT OP CONGRESS, IN THE YRAR 1887, 

By C. A. ESTABROOK. 

IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 



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PREFACE. 



In presenting this series of Lectures to the public, we fully realize that we are 
teaching the subjects composing this volume from a different standpoint than 
they have ever before been taught. But, believing that God knew all about the 
work of His own hands, and that all He did was for the final good of man, and 
that -as He had made man pure, and placed him the head over all His 
creations on earth, and has designed for man, as well as all the rest of His 
creations to be happy, He had an object in view in it all. Man was created for 
a different purpose from all the rest of his creations. But man sinned and died. 
This sin brought its attendant results, and entailed misery on all God's creations 
on earth. After Adam's disobedience, and separation from God, God changed 
His plans and inaugurated a different plan for accomplishing His original object. 
We are taught that there is a spirit in man, and that the spirit is not conceived 
in the womb, and born as the body is ; but that it comes from God and enters 
the body. The two live together here on earth for a certain time for a purpose. 
When they separate, each goes to iis original place again. But while they 
remain here on earth, the spirit controls the body for good, or bad results, and 
these results will determine the final destiny of the spirit when all things come 
to an end here on earth. The bible teaches that the spirit has always existed, 
and was at one time happy, but by disobedience they were separated from God. 
The great plan of salvation was designed by God to make all happy again, that 
would be obedient to the law of this plan. For the success of this plan, God 
sent His own Son to work out the plan, and give the law, so there would be no 
mistake. The law Jesus gave was to control the conduct of these spirits. 

After a careful study of God's dealings with man, and daily praying for 
wisdom, we fully realize that the law Jesus gave the world as His Father's last 
and perfect law to the spirit, is not being properly taught. We beg the pardon 
of the theological colleges ; but a sense of duty, and our love for God and His 
Son. prompts us to publish this series of lectures. We have not written them 
under the dictation of any church, or to defend any special church theory. We 
have, with a prayer for wisdom, written them for the good of our fellow man, and 
ask all to carefully study the bible before they accept our views on either subject. 
Our object is to get men and women to love God more, and serve Him better, 
and to fully realize that God will not accept any worship, unless it is rendered in 
full accordance with the law given the world by His Son. We fully believe that 
all unbiased minds will agree with us. 

With a fervent prayer to the God of all wisdom, the Creator of all things, the 
Great and Eternal King, the Father of our Lord and Savior, whom he appointed 
the Prince of His kingdom on earth, and by whom He gave His final law to the 
entire world, we submit this little book to the criticism of our fellow man, and 
trust it may do some one good, who is now thoughtless of his spirit's happiness 
after his life here is past. 

Th» Authok. 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

1. The Bible. What is it ? 5 



2. Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. To whom given, for 

what, and when used ? 27 

3. Divinity of Jesus Christ proven by Natural Law 39 

4. What does the word, World, mean as used in the Bible ? 59 

5. Baptism, from a Bible standpoint 82 

6. Life, Death, Eternal Life, and Eternal Death? Ill 

7. Hebrews, x: 25. Who Is Right? 135 



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The Bible. What Is It? 



Words are vehicles of thought. The word 
Bible, like all others, has a meaning', but there 
seems to be such various uses of the word that 
we are led to ask, " What does the word Bible 
mean ? " There are few words in the English 
language that have a greater variety of mean- 
ings applied to them than the word Bible. 
There are no two persons that give the same 
identical meaning to the word. All words 
have a terminology that governs their signifi- 
cance. But with the word Bible, there are as 
many terminologies as there are persons. Some 
have given this word a great deal of hard, deep 
study, while the mass of mankind hardly ever 
think of the word, unless they hear some one 
use it. The mass of mankind, from their care- 
less, indefinite manner of life, attach a solemn 
and even sanctified meaning to the word, and 
from the manner of their expression, when by 
chance they do use the word, one is led to be- 
lieve that they worship the word. Such per- 
sons have a very vague and indefinite compre- 
hension of the subject matter contained in the 
word, and appear to think that the word Bible, 



Q THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and God are synonyms. Take the mass of 
mankind and catechise them upon the Bible, 
and how many will be found who really know 
anything at all about it. The word is one 
originated by man, and like everything else 
of the same origin, has very little significance 
in it. Webster says, it means a compounding 
of books. Yet, by usage, it has acquired a 
far different meaning. When we in this day 
use the word, we mean the Laws of God. 
This is the universal meaning applied to the 
word. We look upon our Bible as a com- 
piling of God's Laws into one book. The 
word, as we use it, means the Old Law and the 
New Testament. Is all we find in the Bible 
really the Laws of Ged to the world? If this 
is not so, then what does the word really mean? 
The first half is wrong, according to the reg- 
ularly accepted meaning of the word. This is 
what we wish to study in this lecture. Is the 
Mosaic Law, which comprises two-thirds of the 
volume of the book, the Law God gave for the 
government of the world? 

Is there any difference between the Law to 
Israel by Moses, and the Law to the World by 
Christ? If there is no difference in these two 
Laws, then the generally accepted meaning of 
the word is correct, and we have two Laws in 
full force; the one essentially different from 
the other in almost every particular. Let us 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 7 



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for our own good examine this subject. The 
Law, God gave for the government of Israel, 
was not a Perfect Law, nor was it possible to 
be. We will show our reason for this in our 
lecture on the word " World." The Mosaic 
Law was but an auxiliary to the Perfect or Final 
Law. The condition of the world at the time 
God gave the Law by Moses was such that it 
was impossible to give a Perfect Law. A vio- 
lation of the enactments, or provisions of the 
Law by Moses, was punishable at the time. 
The Law by Moses, was given to govern, train 
and prepare the Jews, for the giving of the 
last Will and Testament of our Savior. [See 
lecture on the word "World.''] God created 
man for a noble purpose, but man was diso- 
bedient, and caused God to change His plans 
and purposes for man. Up to this disobedi- 
ence of man, God and man were united. He 
would not destroy man from the face of the 
earth, but He pronounced a curse upon the 
earth, and changed His plans in regard to man, 
and promised to send One at a proper time to 
consummate His purposes. God made a cov- 
enant with Abraham, and gave the Law for the 
perfecting of this covenant through Moses, 433 
years afterward. Up to the time of giving the 
Law, God governed the descendants of Abra- 
ham, through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But 
as soon as those people became numerous 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



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enough to need a law, God gave it by his serv- 
ant Moses. This Law was for the government 
of the children of Israel and no one else, un- 
til God saw fit to send His Son upon earth. 
God was preparing the world, through His deal- 
ings with the descendants of Abraham, all these 
long years, for the reception of His Son. God, 
for a reason we will show in our lecture on 
the World, had given all things in Heaven and 
upon earth concerning the world, to His Son. 
Then the Law of Moses continued only until 
Jesus gave the world his New and perfect Law. 
We will illustrate this more fully in our lec- 
ture on " The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." 

Jesus came, and after fully accomplishing 
the work his Father gave him to do, he went 
back home again. 

This New and Perfect Law, given by Christ 
to the entire world, was to be a perfect and 
infallible guide for us through life, and reveals 
to us the great reward it will secure to all who, 
from an honest heart obey it and are guided by 
its teachings. At the present day, the word 
Bible is taken to mean a binding together in 
one book, the books of the Old Law and the 
book of the New Law. But many, from the 
thus making this book, look upon the book: as 
being almost sacred, and they consider the en- 
tire book as one Law, and think the Old Law 
equally as binding upon the world to-day, as 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



any part of it ever was upon Israel. In fact, 
we have all been taught from our infancy up 
to reverence this book, much more than we 
have to study the matter it is composed of, 
and truly and intelligently worship God Him- 
self. All this has grown out of the general 
tendency of mankind to be led by some one 
else. To this very source we may trace all 
the multitudinous forms of worship. We say 
forms, for they are nothing more* Every indi- 
vidual class has its own form of worship, and 
all differ, one from the other, yet each claims 
his form to be the most correct of all. 

The first series of books that enter into the 
making up of the Bible, gives a Law that was 
for the children of Israel alone; and that Law 
did not allow of but one form of worship. God 
held Israel strictly to the letter of His Law to 
them. Every time they transgressed the Law 
God gave them, or attempted to introduce any 
other form of worship, He punished them. 
Under the second half of this book, or the book 
of the New Law, God's plans and requirements 
are just the same, and yet we see these human- 
made forms of worship springing up on every 
hand. Why did God punish Israel every time 
they transgressed, and yet allows man to vio- 
late the Law of Jesus Christ as they are doing, 
in getting up laws and regulations of their own, 
for the government of man, in the name of 

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Jesus Christ, that is not His Law? Why does 
He allow man to go unpunished for substitut- 
ing their own laws for the Law of His Son, and 
thus allow man to delude the unsuspecting and 
unlearned? This is the reason. He was pre- 
paring the world, through Israel, for the re- 
ception of His Son, and their faithful adher- 
ence to His Perfect Law; and He used those 
chosen people, whose history was to teach us 
that He is as faithful to bless obedience, as 
He is to punish disobedience. All this is for 
our example and instruction. God gave the 
children of Israel all their laws and forms 
of worship ; or, in other words, He was par- 
ticular to minutely specify just how they were 
to worship Him H The least transgression on 
their part, was certain punishment. He in- 
tended for us to know by His dealings with 
His chosen people, that He is God, and if 
the law, by His Son, is tampered with by 
man, He will just as surely punish us, in the 
way, and at the time He has promised, as He 
punished Israel for their transgressions of the 
Law and forms He gave them. Jesus has giv- 
en us his Law, and he just as rigidly requires 
us to worship his Father according to the plan 
and Law he has s^iven us, as his Father re- 
quired Israel to worship Him, according to the 
Law and plan he gave them. The only differ- 
ence in the punish ment for a violation of the 

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provisions and commandments of the two laws 
is, that when the children of Israel violated 
the law God gave them, through disobedience 
or negligence, or the introducing of their own 
forms, or the false teaching of the law, He 
punished them with a bodily punishment; for 
His law to them was a law to the flesh, but 
the law Jesus gave is a law to the spirit, and 
the punishment is withheld until the final end. 
Yet, violation of Jesus' law will just as surely 
be punished, as God punished Israel when they 
transgressed. God has caused His dealings with 
Israel to be put on record for our good. Many 
of the great and wise men among the children 
of Israel were punished for their presumption 
in tampering with God's Law. So will many 
of the great and wise men under the reign of 
the New Law be punished for their presump- 
tion in daring to tamper with the New and 
Perfect Law, that cost the life-blood of God's 
beloved Son to bring to man, and secure its 
establishment on earth. 

In the Old Law, there was no promise of 
reward offered, except that which was prom- 
ised in Jesus Christ. Yet, God was very strict 
with the Israelites, and punished them for every 
transgression, and disobedience to the law He 
gave them. In the present law, given by 
Christ, a rich reward is promised at the end, 
or when this New Law shall have accomplished 



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God's purposes, as the Old Law accomplished 
its purposes, and ended in the coming of Jesus 
Christ. God's dealings with his chosen chil- 
dren of Israel, was two-fold in its teachings to 
us. First : He taught them obedience, and 
blessed the obedient, and punished the diso- 
bedient. In this, is the Old Law our school- 
teacher. It teaches us that as God blessed the 
obedient, and punished the disobedient, so will 
He bless all who are obedient to His Son's 
Law, and punish those who are disobedient. 
If we transgress the law of Jesus Christ, by the 
introduction of human-made laws, (or use for 
wrong purposes the law Jesus Christ gave us), 
he will surely punish us. Though he will not 
punish us here in this life, as God did the 
children of Israel, yet he will punish us, when 
the time comes to punish, that he has set for 
that purpose. [See Lecture on " Eternal Life 
and Death."] God gave His law to the chil- 
dren of Israel, for the government of the body; 
but by His Son, He gave His law to the 
whole world for the government of the spirit, 
and the body by the spirit. The Old Law 
gave its reward here on earth, but the New 
Law reserves its reward until the final end. 
The rich rewards Jesus has promised, are all 
based upon a faithful obedience to the require- 
ments he has made in his law, and not upon 
the requirements gotten by any man, or church. 



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There is but one God, and one Lord Jesus 
Christ. Hence the purity of their laws, and 
the impurity of all human-made laws, rules, 
creeds and forms of worship. The great ques- 
tion to be settled is, which will triumph in the 
end, and which is it best to obey. Will God 
and Jesus Christ triumph? or will man tri- 
umph? Who has the control of the issues of 
Eternal Life and Eternal Death? When we 
speak of human-made forms of worship, we 
wish to be understood as meaning everything 
gotten up by man, that, in the least degree, 
differs from the requirements, or command- 
ments of Jesui Christ, in the law he has given, 
by which we are to be judged in the last great 
day. We see the Bible, as we accept its teach- 
ings, The law God gave the children of Israel 
was a Preparatory Law. It consisted in writs 
and ordinances, and the individual commands 
of God. When we look into the first, or Old 
Law T , and see that it was given to so few of 
the inhabitants of earth; and how God caused 
those few to be invincible to the many, when 
they strictly obeyed His commands, and walked 
in His statutes, we can the more clearly see 
the intent of the law. We can see, clearly, 
that God's design was to give a manifest proof 
to the world, that when His Son came, for 
the purpose of establishing His Father's king- 
dom on earth, He would make good every 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



promise made by His Son to the world. Thus 
can we see clearly, that the Old Law had its 
objects in view, and that those objects are plain 
to all who will study the two laws. The Bible, 
then, is composed of the Old, or Fleshly Law, 
a law of death; the imperfect law, specially 
given to only a part of the human race, and 
the New and Perfect Law, the law of Life, 
the law to the Spirit, the law of Liberty, the 
law given to the entire world, the law for the 
government of the subjects of God's kingdom 
on earth. The one a dead, the other a living 
law. The Old Law was not given for the gov- 
ernment of God's kingdom on earth. There- 
fore, the objects of the Old Law, were differ- 
rent from the objects of the New Law. By 
a careful study of the Old Law, we can com- 
prehend how God was preparing the world for 
the reception of His Son, and the New and 
Perfect Law he had designed for the world, 
when He promised that the " seed of the 
woman should bruise the Serpent's head." 

Let us now see if we can discover how God's 
dealings with these children of Israel are a 
teacher to us, and what the lesson is that is 
taught, and how we are to apply it to-day. 

Other nation's and people to whom God had 
given no law, but who had the right to make 
their own laws of worship, blindly worshiped 
God. They did not acknowledge, nor worship 



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& 1 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 15 { ° 

the God of Israel. They were, however, just 
as zealous, and sincere in their faith, and 
worship of their peculiar and multitudinous 
gods, as the children of Israel were in their 
worship of the only True God. Their gods were 
either idols of their own design, and make, or 
else they were living animals, stones, the stars, 
sun or moon. None had a knowledge of the 
Living God, with Divine Laws for His wor- 
ship, except the direct descendants of Abra- 
ham. While the heathen nations depended 
upon their superior numbers, and would pro- 
voke a war with Israel, they very soon dis- 
covered just what gave Israel strength, as 
well as weakness. At times, when the armies 
of Israel were the smallest, then were their 
victories the most sweeping, and the true 
source of their strength, the most apparent. 
Thus did the True and Living God gain power 
and respect among the nations and people that 
did not acknowledge, nor worship Him. The 
nations saw, that when those children of Israel 
were obedient, and walked in the statutes of 
their God, that the God of Israel was a mighty 
and powerful God, and fought the battles of 
His people, when they were obedient to Him. 
In many instances, God displayed His power 
with the children of Israel, in so signal a way, 
that it is plain to us to-day, that it was meant 
for a lesson to the world. The nations soon 



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16 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

learned the source of the weakness of Israel, 
and took advantage of it many times. If the 
heathen nations could but get these Israelites 
to disobey some small point in their law, they 
knew that God would not go out to battle 
with them, and thus could they be conquered. 
Jesus has said, if we break one of the least 
of his commandments, we are guilty of all. 
When the children of Israel disobeyed one of 
God's least commands, He left them to them- 
selves, and it always proved disastrous to them. 

As it was with the children of ^Israel, when 
they got up laws of their own, and God left 
them to themselves, and they ceased to be a 
peculiar people unto Him, so it will be with 
us, if we formulate laws of our own, by which 
our worship of Him is regulated. He will not 
love us, nor bless us, nor give us a home with 
Him in eternity. 

How often did the holy prophets of old call 
the children of Israel together, and cry unto 
them, " Hear, O, house of Israel, and know that 
thus saith the Lord God of Israel.' ' Not, thus 
saith our church, but thus saith our God. 
Either worship God through His own appointed 
way, and let Him be God over all, or else do 
not worship Him at, all. Do not attempt to 
worship Him by laws formulated by man, and 
expect that in the great day He will accept you 
just because you hoped you were right, or that 



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the law that regulated your worship of Him, 
was gotten up by this or that great popular 
church. Let His recorded dealings with the 
children of Israel, that were based upon the 
law He gave them, lead us to a correct under- 
standing, and a just appreciation of the plain, 
simple Law of Eternal Life, given the world 
through His holy and beloved Son. Do not 
tamper with that law, nor allow any person or 
church to do so for you, because God will hold 
you responsible if His Law is violated by you, 
no matter how it came about. We are all 
responsible to God for ourselves, and must 
stand a personal judgment in the end. Some 
persons tell us, that, if our argument is true, 
that more than half of mankind, even those 
who are members of church, will be unchris- 
tianized. If men have and are still violating 
the Law of Life, are we doing wrong in teach- 
ing the purity of the law? Look at Israel. 
Do you see them, as they stand there, so close 
to the promised land, as numerous as the sands 
on the shore? How many of that vast num- 
ber were allowed to enter the long promised 
home? Were Caleb and Joshua to be blamed 
because they told the truth, or God for turn- 
ing the unfaithful ones away, and only permit- 
ting the faithful two to enter in and possess 
the promised reward? In this instance, we see 
where God unchristianized nearly all. It is 



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true, God will not be mocked, nor accept any 
worship that is rendered by a law that in the 
least degree conflicts with, or teaches any thing 
that is not just as it is taught by His Son, 
and his holy and divinely guided apostles. 
Therefore, do not worship God like the heath- 
ens of old, nor worship Him ignorantly; but 
worship Him by the law given by His Son, 
and no other, and He will bring you off con- 
queror in the end, as He did Israel whenever 
they followed Him, and Him only. God is so 
deeply interested in the salvation of the world, 
that He sent His beloved Son, not altogether 
a human being like man, to give us his Per- 
fect Law, and he has made it simple and plain. 
Its requirements are few, and easy to be obeyed. 
Its object, a single thing; the eternal salvation 
of its faithful adherents. He -will bring all 
such off conquerors in the end, as He did the 
children of Israel every time when they obeyed 
His Law, and were led by Him. Though there 
were some of God's commands to them, which 
the most learned and pious among them could 
not comprehend, the object to be attained by 
the command, yet these commands were to be 
obeyed, or they were speedily punished for 
their disobedience. So in this law of Jesus 
Christ to the spirit, we do not, nor cannot com- 
prehend the object of all the commands. As 
with Israel, so with the world ; an intelligent 



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faith, and willing and loving obedience, will 
bring the final victory. For to the faithful, 
like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will the vic- 
tory be given. Let this law, that cost the life- 
blood of the Son of God to secure to us, alone, 
as it is, and obey it as it is, and be not con- 
formed to, nor bound by any human-made form 
of worship. For if you do, like Israel of old, 
you will lose all; and find it too late to make 
reparation. 

A great many say, " Well, all this may be 
true; but I have a right to my opinion, still. v 
Where did you get that right? Who gave it 
to you? Does not Jesus tell us that there was 
a time when God winked at ignorance? But 
it is not so now. But, he now commands men 
everywhere to repent. Has the Son of God 
at any time, or in any place, said to the world 
that they can worship him, or his Father, in 
their own way, or by their own forms, or that 
they can have their own opinion about His Law, 
and he would accept their worship? Did Jesus 
give us more than one law, or has he said any 
where in his law, that we can interpret his law 
to suit ourselves, and still he would accept our 
worship as just as good and true worship as if it 
was done strictly in accordance with the letter 
and spirit of his own law? What are the mere 
opinions of men, anyhow? What do they 
amount to? Will they be able to save any 



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® I 20 THE BIBLE ITS 0WN VINDICATOR. 1 ® 

one, or secure to him Eternal Life? No, my 
friends, we have no right to our opinions of 
this Law of Eternal Life. It cost the Son 
of God too much to allow man to trifle with 
it. It is our imperative duty to obey it just 
as it is, without addition, subtraction, or altera- 
tion in the least degree. This opinion busi- 
ness is the fruitful plant from which has sprung- 
all divisions, sects, infidels, deists, atheists, 
&c, that, with their loads of stoical wisdom, 
darken the free councils of God, and cause 
many to go blindly through life, and fall at 
its close, never again to rise. Lay aside this 
mischievous idea, and come out like the chil- 
dren of Israel of old did, when God called them, 
and you can be sure that He will bring you 
off conquerors in the end, as He did Israel 
when they obeyed Him. 

A correct study of this Old Law, or first 
half of the Bible, will reveal the fact that God 
had, from the time he created Adam, a purpose 
in view. That purpose was for the completion 
of His great plan of salvation. God chose the 
seed of Abraham, and their descendants, as the 
people through whom He would send His Son 
to establish His kingdom on earth, and give 
a law for the naturalizing of citizens into His 
kingdom, and for the government of the sub- 
jects of the kingdom. He has promised in this 
New Law, that composes the latter part of the 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 21 

Bible, that all who accept His Son, and obey 
his law, and are obedient to its commands, 
can rest assured that a faith centered in him ? 
is certain of the promised reward at the end 
of this natural life. 

He dealt with Israel of old in a way that 
would, for all ages to come, be a guide to those 
who accept His Son, and live a life of loving 
obedience to his law. God gave a law to 
Israel for their guidance, and it was composed 
of writs and ordinances. Whenever they devi- 
ated in the least, He warned them by His 
prophets, and required them to come back again 
t) His Law, and to Him; but, if they would 
not heed His call, He punished them. But, if 
they repented and came back again, He forgave 
them and blessed them as before; still, He at 
all times held them to the letter of His Law. 
All this He did for our good, and an example, 
in order to teach us that when His Son came 
and worked out the great plan of salvation, 
established the kingdom on earth, and gave us 
the Perfect Law, which was in the Father's 
mind from the beginning, that we might have 
abundance of proof that He would just as surely 
hold us strictly to obey this Perfect Law, as 
He did Israel to obey the law to the flesh. 
We see in Israel, and the law given them, a 
law pertaining to Israel in the flesh. But in 
the law given the world by Christ, we see a 



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law pertaining to the spiritual Israel. God so 
loved the world that He sent His Son to re- 
deem the world. This law by Christ permits 
of but one form of worship, and Jesus gave 
that form. He obeyed every particle of the 
law, and has told us that he was our example. 
He foreknew that humanity would always con- 
tinue the same, and that men would rise up 
after he left the earth, and by taking part of 
his Perfect Law, manufacture a law of their 
own, and so work on the credulity of men that 
they could formulate any law they pleased, and 
mankind would accept it. Therefore, he gave 
us a very plain and simple law, and to make 
it the plainer to the world, he illustrated 
every feature of it in his own life, and then 
warns men against these imitators, and tells 
us to try every kind of doctrine, and see if it 
be of God, or of man, We have the plain law 
Jesus gave the world, and his life's example, 
by which to try all these human-made laws, 
creeds and doctrines. He has told us, as a 
central point around which all the law con- 
centrates, that "there is but one Lord, one 
Faith, and one Baptism." Jesus came and 
established his Father's kingdom on earth; not 
a temporal kingdom like that of Israel, but an 
eternal kingdom that is to continue through 
all eternity. 

Who can wonder that God was so particu- 



r 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 23 

lar about the law that is for the government 
of His kingdom? His kingdom is a spiritual 
one, and none but spirits can enter it. " God 
is spirit, and seeketh such to worship Him." 
" Worship Him in spirit and in truth." How 
all these human forms and laws for the gov- 
ernment of the worship of God, can claim to 
be laws of God, or even be sanctioned by God, 
is strange to an intelligent and thinking mind. 
Have not men hewn out to themselves, and 
not unto God, cisterns that are as worthless 
as cisterns that will hold no water? Why 
thinking men and women, of pious hearts, 
will give God's Law so little of their time and 
thoughts, when they know that God will hold 
them responsible for the keeping and obeying 
every particle of His Law, is passing strange 
to a candid, thinking mind. The great effort, 
one that is doing God more injustice, and His 
Law more harm, and deceiving more people 
than everything else, is, the great greed for 
wealth and popularity. These cause the great 
mass of mankind to give but very little of 
their time and thought to anything else, and 
this leads them to be ever ready to accept a 
doctrine that is very lax; one that suits their 
fancy, and requires the least of their time and 
thought. 

My hearers, stop the current of your thoughts 
for a moment. Has not God, from the time 



24 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICA10R. 



garden of 



he placed Adam and Eve in the 
Eden, been working with His creature, man, 
and for him, unceasingly, up to the time He 
sent His Son on earth? What do you think 
God did it for? Was it to enrich Himself, 
Or achieve greater honors? What did He do 
it for? Why was Jesus so interested in man, 
as to cause him to come here and suffer as he 
did? Was it for personal ambition, or glory? 
Why have both been so particular in regard 
to having their laws pure and clean, and 
guarded them in every possible manner from 
the contaminating meddlesomeness of man? 
What object can you see in it all, on the part 
of God and His Son? We think we hear the 
answer in all your minds. It was all on ac- 
count of their great love for their creatures. 
Yes, it was that, and nothing else. But what 
are we doing to demonstrate our love for them? 
Do we cling to their laws, love them, defend 
them, and study them one-tenth as much as we 
might, and should? The answer comes rolling 
down from past ages with a solemn, sepulchral 
answer, as though it was the voice from the 
dead, No! Will not God and Jesus hold us 
responsible for our treatment of them? 

Oh! my hearers, little do some of us know 
how near we are to the end of our race here 
on earth, nor are we certain, we fear, that our 
worship of God has not been guided and gov- 



fc 



^ 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



25 



erned more by human laws, than by the Law 
of Jesns Christ to the world. Awaken to your 
eternal interests, and work as you have never 
worked before. Begin at once a prayerful, and 
careful study of the Law of Eternal Life for 
yourselves, and be sure for yourselves, that you 
have obeyed the commandments of God, and 
not those of men. Do exactly as the Lord 
commands, and then you can be certain that 
you are right. God has proven His love for 
the world by what He has done for their good. 
After having done all He has for the world, 
He will not accept any worship or love from 
His creatures, that is not from the heart; a 
love that controls and brings every particle 
and faculty of the man to the altar, as a 
free and loving gift. " Seek ye the kingdom 
of God, and His righteousness, and all things 
else shall be added unto you." It is by His 
Law only that any one can enter His king- 
dom on earth. We fear that many in the last 
day will discover that all is lost, from their 
not having worshiped God according to His 
Son's Law. Many we fear will find that they 
have not obeyed the commands of Jesus Christ. 
You may tell us here on earth that such and 
such is the doctrine of our church, when you 
do not know for yourselves, having never care- 
fully studied God's Law, to know whether you 
are living in obedience to what He has com- 



xr~3) 



26 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



manded, or to that of some one else, no bet- 
ter than yourself; but it will not do you any 
good to say to God, that you worshiped Him, 
and obeyed His commandments as they were 
explained to you by your church. Getting 
into the kingdom on earth is a personal work, 
and the commands are all personal commands. 
Again we urge you not to be mistaken, but 
make sure work, for this is the last offer, the 
last opportunity. God will not do any more 
than He has already done. Believe not what 
we have said, only in so far as the Bible sus- 
tains us. Read the Bible for yourselves, believe 
what it says, and obey all its commands. 



fl 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 27 



The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. 



The subject to which we wish to invite the 
attention of all, to-night, who are students of 
the Bible, and acknowledge it as from God, 
is one that has, like all others, been explained 
in various ways, and nearly all have their own 
views upon it. But there is, certainly, one 
correct explanation to it. In this, as in every 
other subject in the Bible, there can be but 
one correct explanation. Our explanation to- 
night, we have no doubt, will, in the minds of 
some, awaken a spirit of controversy. We do 
not, however, hold ourselves responsible for 
such a result. We wish it distinctly under- 
stood we will not engage in controversies on 
the Bible, for we never yet saw any good come I 
from such controversies. We will do our best, ! 
and trust, that by God's blessings, and your 
careful attention, we shall be able to make 
this subject so plain to all, that our reasonings 
will be accepted by all. We ask the careful 
thought of our hearers. STever decide hastily 



fl 



28 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



upon any subject. Always take it into careful 
consideration ; and when there is vital im- 
portance at stake, lay aside all prejudice, 
and reason upon the subject logically, and 
truth will always fix itself in your minds, and 
enable you to clearly and logically arrive at 
the proper conclusion. We do not wish any 
one present to accept our reasonings upon this 
subject, if we are not fully and clearly sus- 
tained by God's word. We are aware that in 
this, as in all our other lectures, our line of 
reasoning, and final conclusion, will be entirely 
new to all, and we therefore ask all to be sat- 
isfied in their own minds that we are right, 
before they accept our conclusions. 

The great and mighty subjects of the Bible 
upon which hangs our eternal salvation, are 
not studied by any of us as intently as they 
should be. If we miss Eternal Life, it will be 
because we have not made the proper effort to 
obtain it. 

The subject we have chosen for our lecture 
this evening, will be found recorded in Matt, 
xvi. ch. 19 v. It is the language of our divine 
Master to his chosen apostle, Peter. Jesus 
chose Peter for his stern and uncompromising 
disposition. He could only give the authority 
he is about to confer to one person. Hence, 
he chose Peter. Jesus said to Peter, " I will 
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 09 

; 

Heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth, shall be bound in Heaven; and whatso- 
ever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed 
: in Heaven." — Mat. xvi: 19. Bear in mind, that 
\ Jesus gave these keys to Peter only, and gave 
j him power to use them; but he did not grant 
J Peter the authority to transfer those keys to 
anybody else, nor did Jesus give him the au- 
thority to use the keys but for two things, and 
but the one time, as we will endeavor to show 
before we get through with this subject. God 
sent His Son to earth to do a certain work. 
He came to establish his Father's kingdom on 
earth, and to frame the law for the government 
of the kingdom. In order to accomplish this 
great w T ork, there was much Jesus had first to 
do. The work to be done was thoroughly un- 
derstood by the one who came to accomplish 
it. He came out from the Father, and was 
thoroughly conversant with every detail and 
department of the work to be done. 

He came, as the prophets of God had fore- 
told centuries before. During all the long 
years, while the prophets w r ere laboring with 
Israel, God was preparing the world for the 
great event of the advent of His Son upon 
earth. Jesus Christ came at the appointed 
time, and after having made all necessary ar- 
rangements, and by many signs and wonders 
thoroughly trained his apostles, he w r as ready 



t= B=7 



30 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

to depart. He had established his Father's 
kingdom, but he was not yet ready for its 
formal opening. 

After all things were ready, he said to Peter, 
" I will give to you the keys of the kingdom 
of Heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatso- 
ever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in 
Heaven." You will bear in mind that the 
keys were given only to Peter. He did not 
give the keys to all of his apostles, but to 
Peter only. He authorized Peter to use those 
keys. When he gave the keys to Peter, he 
thoroughly understood what authority he was 
conferring. The giving of the keys to Peter 
showed both the appreciation and confidence 
Jesus had in his ability to use the keys, as 
well as his loyalty to him. Though Peter had 
not yet been tried, Jesus knew the man. Jesus 
came to earth to fulfil the prophecies, sayings 
and objects of the Old Law, and establish 
his Father's kingdom, and give the New and 
Perfect Law for the government of all who 
chose to become citizens of his kingdom; and 
point out clearly, through his own example, 
how to become citizens of God's kingdom on 
earth. We are taught by the New Law, that 
Jesus Christ came out from the Father, for the 
express purpose of winding up the adminis- 
tration of the Old Law. Hence, we hear our 

fe : ^B 1 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 3^ 

Savior saying that he was the end of the Law. 
In him were all the writs and ordinances 
taken away, being nailed to his cross. "When 
Jesus was nailed to the cross, the old Mosaical 
Law was also nailed there in the person of 
Jesus. This old, or the law God gave through 
Moses for the government of the children of 
Israel, consisted in writs and ordinances, (which 
were but types and shadows of the New and 
Perfect Law), and those Jesus had to take 
away, before the New and Perfect Law could 
be given. The necessity for the removal of 
the Old Law was, that it was only given to 
a very small portion of the human family, and 
the object of the Old Law was attained when 
Jesus came. The law Jesus gave through his 
divinely guided agents, was for the entire 
world. He founded his Father's kingdom, 
established all things for the successful gov- 
ernment of the kingdom; chose, and thoroughly 
instructed his agents, and then took his depar- 
ture, and left the formal administration of the 
law of the kingdom to his divinely guided 
apostles, or agents. This New Law was not 
ratified by the high court of Heaven until after 
the work of establishing it was fully accom- 
plished. To accomplish the fulfillment of this 
work, it required the death of Jesus Christ; 
for such was God's plan. After the death of 
Jesus Christ, and his burial, and resurrection, 



^w- 



& 32 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and return from hades, he gave to his apostles 
two very important charges. One was, "Whose- 
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto 
them, and whose-soever sins ye retain, they are 
retained." The other was, " Tarry in Jeru- 
salem until you receive power from on high." 
[For the authority to remit sins, see Lecture 
on Baptism]. 

The ratification of the work Jesus had ac- 
complished was first to take place in the court 
of his Father, in order to its legality. Jesus 
had taken away all the writs and ordinances 
of the Old Law, by fulfilling them. Hence, 
this Old, typical Law, by Moses, has fulfilled 
its mission, and is now ready to be closed up. 
Jesus had made all necessary arrangements 
for the setting up of his Father's kingdom on 
earth, and placed in the hands of his agents 
the New Law for the government of his Fath- 
er's kingdom, and the time is at hand for the 
opening, or giving the ISTew Law to the entire 
world, as the last Law that will ever be given, 
through which man can obtain Eternal Life. 
This law is a perfect one, and is simple and 
easy to be understood by all. The time has 
arrived for God to demonstrate the validity of 
this law. Jesus had taken his departure, and 
gone into the presence of his Father. The day 
of Pentecost has arrived, and Jews from all 
parts of the country are in Jerusalem to eel- 



& 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 33 

ebrate the great harvest feast, as provided for 
in the Old Law, without the least intimation 
of God's design in regard to the work of His 
Son. They knew but one thing in regard to 
Jesus Christ, and that was, they hg-d accom- 
plished his death. But God chose this oppor- 
tunity, in the flush of what the Jews supposed 
to be a great victory— the death of Christ — 
to open to the world His great and Final Law. 
The time had arrived for Peter to use the keys 
given him by his great Master. Invested as 
he was, with the royal authority to do the 
work, and inspired as he was, and aided by 
the Holy Spirit, he, for the first time, heralded 
to the world the glad tidings of a crucified 
and risen Savior of the world. He made this 
proclamation officially and publicly, and in the 
presence and hearing of the assembled thou- 
sands of Jews. God sent His Holy Spirit and 
added His testimony to that of Peter's, by 
addressing both eyes and ears of all present, 
with a miraculous display of His power. 

The Old Law was given through Moses to 
the children of Israel, amid the lightnings and 
thunders of Mount Sinai. On the present occa- 
sion, God shows His sanction of the giving of 
this New Law in a way not to be misunder- 
stood by any. 

On this great and important day, Peter 
bound up the Old Law with one key, and 



ft 



fl 



34 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR I ®" 

Jesus bound it in Heaven. With the other 
key, Peter loosened, or unbound, or opened 
the ISTew Law to the world, and Jesus opened 
it in Heaven. In this transaction, we see 
where Peter used the keys for the very purpose 
Jesus intended them to be used for. The 
Lord told Peter he gave him the keys to 
bind, and loosen. Here, Peter has performed 
just what the Lord of the kingdom intended 
him to perform, that of binding up the Old 
Law, and loosing, or giving the New Law to 
the world. Therefore, all are now required 
to obey the New, and open Law, for from 
that great day to the winding up of time, 
it is the only law by which God will judge 
all who have lived, or will live from the day 
of Pentecost to the great day of judgment, 
when God will assemble before Him all that 
ever lived in a human body, from the time 
God made Adam, to the winding up of time. 
The Old Law will be the standard by which 
God will judge all those who lived on earth 
up to the day of Pentecost, and the New 
Law will be the rule for judging all who have 
lived from that day, to the close of time. 
Since the day of Pentecost, we are not com- 
manded, nor required to obey the law God 
gave for the government of Israel. The Old 
Law, as it is now called, is the law God . 
gave for the government of the children of 



fe 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



rft 



35 



Israel until He sent His Son to establish His 
kingdom on earth. We, nor any who have 
lived since the day of Pentecost, the day on 
which Peter bound up the Old Law, will be 
judged in the last great day by any of its 
enactments, or commandments. But all who 
lived under the Old Law, up to the day on 
which Peter bound it up, will be judged by 
it in the great day, and not by the New 
Law, for they had not the New Law, Peter 
loosened, or unbound on the day of Pente- 
cost. As a proof to all this, John the Reve- 
lator says, the books were brought, and the 
dead were judged out of the things written 
in the books. Eev. xx: 12. Considering 
what God said in the Old Law, and what 
His Son has said in the New Law, which of 
the two laws must necessarily be in force 
now ? Why so many sermons should be 
preached from subjects chosen from the Old, 
and bound up Law, when the open and living 
Law of Life, given by the Savior for the 
government of the world, is so full of inex- 
haustable themes taught by the living Re- 
deemer, and his chosen, trained and divinely 
guided apostles, passes our comprehension. 
We are now under a Law of Life, secured to 
us, by the life and death of our Redeemer, 
and not under a Law of Death; a law that 
was but a type, or shadow of the New and 



<§~tr 



o 



3(5 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDIGAIOR. 

Perfect Law. If all true believers in the 
I holy and divine son of God, would but 
listen to what the great and eternal God 
said to those who witnessed his transfigura- 
tion on the mountain top, believe it, obey it 
and preach it, it would not be long till all 
would see, and believe alike. But no; human 
made laws, creeds and forms must take the 
place, and be more humbly obeyed than what 
God and Jesus Christ have commanded in 
the plainest, and most unmistakable terms. 

God had spoken through the Old Law, but 
on this occasion, while His Son, and His own 
faithful messengers of r the Old Law, are 
transfigured before the divinely commissioned 
apostles of Jesus Christ, God speaks, and 
again acknowledges His Son to his apostles 
who are transfigured with Jesus, and com- 
mands the apostles of His Son to hear what 
Jesus says. As much as to say, the law I 
gave the children of Israel by these, my 
agents here before you, has fulfilled all my 
wishes, and my Son will give you a New 
Law. Listen to him, and do his bidding, 
and obey what he says, for I love him, and 
every knee shall bow to him, and every 
tongue shall confess unto me. Woe unto 
him who dares to introduce, or teach human 
devised laws for the worship of God. 

My hearers, if we willingly and lovingly 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



37 



bow our knees to our Savior, and with our 
mouths confess him before men, and worship 
his Father through and by the law he has 
so kindly given us, and stop attempting to 
worship God through human-made laws and 
commands, and through all our lives be lov- 
ing, gentle and kind, as we have Jesus for 
our example, he has promised us blessings 
and victory here, and in the end everlasting 
life with him and his Father, on the New 
Earth, and in the New Jerusalem. But, if 
in the end, and when the great day of 
judgment comes, we are forced to bow our 
knees to Jesus Christ, and with our tongues 
confess unto God, it will go hard with us. 
Can any man be so unjust, as to even hope 
that God, or His Son, will love and bless 
him after death, when he has been 
wicked and rebellious all his life ? "Would 
we not better devote a little more of our time 
here to the correct study of his Law, and 
attend more punctually and cheerfully to what 
we know to be our duty, and give less of 
our time and thoughts to this life? Which 
is of the greater value, the life that now is, 
or the one offered at the right hand of God, 
that is to last through the endless ages of 
eternity ? 

The giving of this New Law, of necessity 
abrogated, ended the Old Law, or bound it 



£ 



38 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

up. The promulgation of the New Law, and 
naming the conditions of acceptance granted 
by the New Law, of necessity opened, or 
loosened it to the world. Yet, how many 
there are in this day, who profess to be 
christians who will tell you the Old Law is 
binding on the world to-day, and are vainly 
attempting to make the New Law agree with 
the Old Law. There are many to-day, who 
think the Old Law equally as binding on the 
world as the New Law, just because their 
church creeds include extracts from the old, 
as well as the New Law. In all the creeds, 
church laws, confessions, &c, free allusion, 
and use of the sayings of the Old Law, are 
mixed with the teachings of the New Law, 
thus attempting to formulate a law of their 
own, out of what in the economy of God is 
a dead law, by mixing it with the teachings of 
the living law given the world by Christ, as 
God's last and Perfect Law. God help us all 
to study this New Law more closely, and grant 
to us wisdom to comprehend its simple com- 
mands, and by it, and our humble obedience 
to it, grant us a home in Heaven at last. 



ft 



fe 



<r~tr 



f^-- — *t 

® TTTF. RTRT.F TTS OW\ VINDICATOR. Ofl ® 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 39 



" The Divinity of Christ by Natural 
Law." 



In the beginning, God created the heavens 
and the earth, and all things in them. In 
all His creations, He has taught us by His 
recorded work, that He had a specific object 
in view. He created every thin^ on earth 
for the direct and personal benefit and hap- 
pintss of man. God created, first, all the 
lower orders of beings, and after pronouncing 
them all good, He commanded them to mul- 
tiply and replenish the earth. He designed 
for all the lower orders of His creation to be 
happy, and to that end, He provided bounti- 
fully for their support in the fruits of the 
earth. All were happy, and lived together 
in perfect peace and contentment. ]N"o one 
animal destroyed another for its food, for God 
told them, the fruits of the earth should be 
their meet. Gen. i: 30. God planted a gar- 
den in Eden, and arranged it as His infinite 
wisdom planned, for the express purpose of 



3=® 



s 



40 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



i 



making His creatures happy, and placed them 
all in that garden. He created all things on 
earth for the express happiness of the heads 
of His creations. He created man for a 
higher and nobler purpose than any of the 
rest of His creations. Man was created for 
the glory of God. In order to constitute 
Adam the .controling head in the garden, He 
brought the beasts of the earth, and the 
fowls of the air, to Adam, in order that he 
might give them names. Whatever name 
Adam gave them, God said such should be 
their names. Thus, constituting Adam the 
head of all His creations on earth, and made 
all subservient to man. In order to increase 
and multiply, God created a male and female 
in every species. He also created a female 
in the human species of His creation; but, He 
created her in an entirely different way from 
what He created the female bodies in the 
lower orders of His creations. This transac- 
tion, you are all familiar with, that are 
familiar with your bibles. He gave her to 
Adam for a companion and helpmate, and 
commanded them to multiply and replenish the 
earth, for a purpose entirely different from all 
the rest of his creations. This we will explain 
in our lecture on the word " World." 

God looked upon them in their happy, inno- 
cent state, and considered all he had done for 



fc* ^=Sb 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 4 J »' 

their express happiness and comfort, and was 
well pleased, and said it was good, and com- 
manded them to multiply and replenish the 
earth, and extend the boundaries of His beau- 
tiful garden, until it should cover the entire 
earth. Subdue it. 

What more could God have done, than He 
had already done for their happiness? God 
created man for His own glory. How He must 
have loved this human part of His creations. 
He loved them so well, that He would come 
down to the garden in the cool of the evening 
and converse with Adam and Eve as a fiiend 
converses with a friend he loves dearly. He 
loved them so well that He placed but one 
small restriction upon their absolute liberty in 
His garden. In addition to all the beautiful 
arrangements in His garden, He planted there 
luscious fruits, and gave them liberty to eat of 
all the fruits except the fruit of one tree. This 
He reserved for himself, and told Adam that to 
eat of the fruit of this tree would be disobedi- 
ence. God told him what the effect would be, 
and warned him not to eat of it; for to eat of 
it would be death. But Adam loved to obey 
some one else rather than God, and ate of the 
fruit. The result was just what God told him 
it would be. This death of Adam and Eve 
we will explain in our lecture on Life, Death, 
Eternal Life and Eternal Death. 

fc — fB 



42 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDIOA10R. 

God drove them out of this garden, and 
would not allow them to re-enter it again. 
God still has that beautiful garden, and holds 
it in reservation for the faithful, as a reward 
to be given in the final end. God changed 
His designs for Adam and his posterity. He 
did not, however, leave him and his posterity 
without any hope. He promised to send the 
seed of the woman to bruise the serpent's 
head, as soon as everything was in readiness 
for it. He further promised, that the seed of 
the woman should redeem the entire world 
from a sin, and reconcile them back again to 
God. He dealt with man for many long years, 
and bore with him in all his wickedness, and 
sent His holy prophets to warn him, and in- 
struct and guide him, so that when He sent the 
seed of the woman — not the seed of man, re- 
member — to redeem the* world, man would re- 
ceive Him. He promised by the mouth of His 
prophets, to prepare a body for His Christ, who 
was to be the reedemer of the world. 

This brings us to the subject of this lec- 
ture, " The Divinity of Jesus Christ by Nat- 
ural Law." As the manner in which we will 
handle this subject will be, in all probability, 
entirely new to all, we ask that all follow us 
closely to the end. "We trust that all before 
us to-night, believe in a God, at least. If we 
succeed, by natural law in establishing the di- 



*T±^ 5=a 

® THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 43 

vinity of Jesus Christ, wc shall then most cer- 
tainly have established the divinity of his law. 
For if the author is divine, his law must of 
necessity be divine. Remember, fix it closely 
and clearly in your minds, that God said it 
was the seed of the woman that was to come, 
and not only bruise the serpent's head, but 
also, this same seed of the woman w^as to re- 
deem the fallen world, and reconcile it back to 
God again. There is a grand significance at- 
tached to this " seed of the woman." The seed 
of the man ~vas to have nothing to do, nor 
take any direct part in preparing the body 
for God's Christ. "Woman was the weaker 
vessel, and through her the devil wrought the 
completion of his evil designs, without consul- 
tation or knowledge of the man. Therefore, 
the seed of the woman, alone, was to accom- 
plish this great work. The seed of the man 
is necessary for the work of the propagation 
of human bodies, for the purpose of carrying 
out God's command to replenish or populate 
the earth. But, in the great work to be done 
by the seed of the woman, God takes the work 
of preparing a body for His Christ into His 
own hands. 

In the beginning, God made a natural law 
to govern the production of natural bodies, and 
this law He will use to His honor and glory. 
When God created the beasts of the earth, 



44 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and the fowls of the air, He created a male 
and a female of all the species, and ordered 
them to multiply. He did the same in the 
human species. Therefore, in all, the human 
as well as the animal, there must be a male 
and a female, in order to multiply. He cre- 
ated in all the ability to multiply. In the fe- 
male organs of generation, He caused to grow 
an ovum, or egg. This egg, by a natural law, 
a law common to all, an unalterable law, must 
come to maturity, or a state of perfection, in 
order to be capable of combining with the seed 
of the male, in order that by the union, or 
combining of the seeds of the male and female, 
the two seeds can go on to a higher develop- 
ment in the production of an organized body. 
As soon as the egg, which is the seed of the 
woman, is fully matured, it is either impreg- 
nated, combined with the seed of the male, and 
by a natural law, produces an organized body 
like unto that of the father and mother, or 
else it is cast out of the womb and lost. 

Now, do not treasure up our next point as 
a rebuttal to our conclusions, for, if you be- 
lieve God created all things, you must ac- 
knowledge that what little faith we will ask 
of all at a point further on, is not asking 
too much. 

By the common, or natural law, God cre- 
ated to govern the reproduction of any species 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 45 

of animal creation, the seed in the womb of 
the female is absolutely powerless to produce, 
without first combining with the seed of the 
male of the species. Likewise, is the seed of 
the male equally as powerless of itself. In 
order to produce, there must be a combina- 
tion of the seeds of the male and female ac- 
cording to natural law. All this is in strict 
accordance with a law God made, just as much 
as He made the heavens and the earth, and 
He is the Father, or maker of all. Let us now 
ascertain the meaning of father and mother, 
for they have a meaning, after we fully under- 
stand them, that gives to them the power of 
explaining much to us. The word father, ety- 
mologically means, first cause, or producer, or 
starter, or originator. The word mother means 
mould for shaping, one who gives form, one who 
brings forth. The mother does possess the abil- 
ity to bring forth. If there has been by natural 
law a proper combination of the seeds of the 
male and female in the womb of the mother, 
her womb will bring forth the egg that was in 
her womb, vitalized, and grown, and shaped 
into a body like unto the bodies of the father 
and mother. This is the work of nature, and 
is governed by a law that God made, when 
He created man, and made the bodies male 
and female, for the accomplishment of His 
purpose here on earth. The natural law that 



foTJ 



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46 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

governs the reproduction of any species of 
animal creation, was established when God 
created the species. In His lower orders of 
creation, such as the feathered tribes, the 
ovum, or egg, is incapable of being hatched 
if the male of the species has not first had 
connection with the female, so as to combine 
in the egg the seeds of both. By a careful 
analysis of this subject, we will see that 
every child in the human species of creation, 
must be the result of a combination of the 
seeds of both the father and mother, by a nat- 
ural law. By a careful study of the reproduc- 
tion of any species of animal creation, we see 
this same law governs all. The father must 
first impregnate, or combine the seed of his 
body with the egg, or seed of the mother, in 
the womb of the mother, before the egg in her 
womb can develop, and a child be born. The 
mother's organs of generation were created by 
God for furnishing the matrix, to give form 
or shape to the body. The proof of this is 
seen in the different species producing its own 
kind. The father's organs of generation were 
created to furnish or produce the vitalizing 
seed, which, when combined with the ovum, or 
egg, gives the egg vitality or power to develop. 
Such is the natural law God made to govern 
the reproduction of all animal creation, and 
this law is unalterable, except the author or 



ft 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 47 

maker of the law sees fit to change it. In 
which case, He does not violate natural law, 
for He is not only the author of the law, but 
the maker of all the species of animal crea- 
tion. 

Please bear in mind that the word father 
means starter, and the word mother means mould, 
lor shaping, or producing. By thoroughly fix- 
ing these meanings of father and mother in 
your minds, you will be the better able to com- 
prehend the workings of God's natural law, 
that governs the reproduction of all animal 
creation, and more thoroughly comprehend what 
God meant when he said, " This is my beloved 
Son." There could not be a son, unless there 
was first a father, for the father must first start 
the growth, or development of the body in the 
womb of the mother, by giving vitality to the 
egg, or ovum. 

In the beginning, God said it was the seed 
of the woman that was to accomplish the great 
work of redemption, and not the combined 
seeds of, or production of the bodies of man 
and woman, as it is in the production of the 
natural, or human bodies. The prophet said, 
God would prepare a body for His Christ. 
Please remember, also, Christ said he was with 
the Father before the worlds began. * The 
meaning of this expression of Christ we will 
explain in our lecture on the word " World." 



if 



48 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

The bible teaches us that God was prepar- 
ing the world through His dealings with the 
children of Israel, for the reception of His Son, 
who, as far as man or humanity was concerned, 
was to be the seed of the woman, and become 
the redeemer, or Savior of the world. 

Man is the imasre of God on earth. God 
created the earth for the express happiness and 
benefit of man. Man was the only image of 
God, or created intelligence on earth, that God 
was directly interested in. He did not make 
himself visible to man after he drove them out 
of His garden, as His Son did when he came 
to earth. God chose the combined seeds of 
Abraham and his wife as the direct line through 
whom He would bless the world with the gift 
of His Son, who was to be created from the 
seed of the woman. We will explain fully, 
and we hope clearly to all, how Jesus Christ 
is the Son of God. God cared for the descend- 
ants of Abraham, and though He often pun- 
ished them severely for their transgressions of 
His Law to them, yet He at no time allowed 
the direct line from Abraham down to Christ 
to be broken. With the birth of Christ ended 
the Abrahamic dynasty. 

Whatever God does is perfection. The time 
had arrived for God to fulfill His promise to 
Adam in the garden of Eden. We see a virgin 
by the name of Mary, a descendant in an un- 



3 
THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 49 1 *® 

broken line from Abraham down. She has 
grown to the years of maturity, and her organs 
of generation are fully developed, and ready to 
produce. At this point, my hearers, we ask of 
you a little faith, to form a bridge by which 
we will connect God with his creature man. 
God, who created the first body, or man, with 
all his unmeasured possibilities, and gave the 
body power to generate, or produce like bod- 
ies, by the combining of the seed of the male 
with the seed of the female, in the womb of 
the female, has in that act done what no man 
has ever been able to comprehend, or under- 
stand. We see children born every day, yet 
how little do we really know about it, beyond 
the simple fact that it is the result of a nat- 
ural law, of which God is the Father, or 
maker? God being the maker of this natnral 
law for the production of bodies, has the power 
and authority to use ' the law, and the human 
body, for His own purpose and glory. In the 
womb of the virgin Mary lays an ovum or egg, 
perfect and ready for use. God is ready to 
use His own natural law, and by the same 
infinite power He had to make the law, and 
the human body, He commands the ovum, or 
egg, in Mary's womb to vitalize and grow. It 
obeyed His almighty command, and natural 
law is put to work, and at the natural time a 
body is born, or brought into existence, just 



s 



50 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

the same as other bodies have been ever since 
God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply 
and replenish the earth. This is the body God 
promised to prepare for His Christ. God's 
Christ entered this body just the same as our 
spirits entered our bodies after they come from 
our mothers' womb. 

Look upon your son or 'daughter and reflect 
for one moment. Tell us how was that child 
born unto you? Let us see. First, there had 
to be a starter, or beginner of its body in 
the womb of your wife. This took place by 
the law of nature, when the seed of your body 
was placed in connection with the seed, or 
ovum, in the womb of your wife. The ovum 
from which the body of your child took its 
start, lay in the womb of your wife, abso- 
lutely powerless, until the seed of your body 
came in contact with it, and then, by the law 
God made, when He made man, nature goes 
to work. The ovum, or egg^ had first to have 
some starting cause, before it could go any 
farther than the simple form of the egg. To 
start it in the developing process, it required 
a starting cause. From your body came that 
starting cause. It matters not what started 
that egg on the road of development, a start- 
ing cause was necessary to the growth of a 
body. Beyond this simple fact, we know 
really nothing whatever, only that it is by a 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 5 J 

law of nature that our children are born unto 
us, and that it required the nature of both 
our bodies to produce the body of a child. 
Think you that God had not the power to 
command the vitalization of the seed of Mary 
to grow and produce a body from her womb, 
and leave man out of the transaction alto- 
gether? You are the father of the body of 
your child, because you w^ere the starter of 
the development of its body in the womb of 
your wife, when the seed of your body was 
combined with the egg, or ovum in the womb 
of your wife. The seed of your body was 
combined with the seed of your wife's body, 
and natural law gave unto you a child. 
Hence, he that is the starter of the growth, 
or development of the egg in the womb, is 
the father of the body born from that womb, 
because the word father means, as we have 
shown, starter, or beginner. Therefore, God 
was the father of that body that was born 
from the womb of Mary, the body of Jesus 
Christ, because He, by His command, started 
the development, or growth of the body that 
was born of the virgin Mary. God com- 
manded the ovum, or egg in Mary's womb to 
grow and produce a body. The ovum obeyed 
God's command, for it could not do otherwise, 
because God made all the powers of the body, 
and . had the right to command all these 



ik 



fl 



52 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

powers, for his own purposes and glory. 
God being the Father of the body of Jesus 
Christ, and Mary being the mother, and God 
being divine, and Mary being humcn, Mid gs 
the child partakes of the nature of the father, 
as well as of the mother, so Jesus partook of 
the nature of his Father, as well as of his 
mother, and in him we have God and human- 
ity combined. Thus was God in His Son, rec- 
onciling the world to himself. 

We see Jesus developing as a child devel- 
ops. He grew to mature manhood; but, as 
yet, God has not acknowledged His child to 
the world of mankind. 

At the proper time God's Son comes to John 
while he was baptizing in the river Jordan, 
and without any sign or display, other than 
accompanied the baptism of others by John, 
until he has gone down under the water, and 
is raised up again, does anything occur out 
of the usual way. But, when he has arisen 
from the water, and the assembled thousands 
on the banks of the Jordan are looking on, 
a strange thing takes place. A dove in ap- 
pearance, descends, alights upon his head, 
folds its wings, and rests there so contentedly, 
that every eye of that vast audience is riv-. 
ited upon him. While expectation is aroused 
and curiosity is excited to its highest pitch, 
a voice from heaven is heard, speaking in the 



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(s U 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 53 

language of that day, saying, " This is My 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

God has thus publicly acknowledged His 
Son, and introduced him to the world in a 
way that will not admit of a doubt in the 
minds of the assembled thousands who heard 
it. This certainly gives him a divine origin, 
derived from his Father, God, and through 
the humanity of his mother, connects him to 
man. 

Let us consider one more incident in the 
early life of Christ. You remember when he 
was but a boy yet, a lad of twelve years, he 
was found by his mother sitting in the tem- 
ple, disputing with the most learned men of 
the age on the intricate subjects of the Mo- 
saical law, and asking many difficult ques- 
tions. His mother, like all mothers would do, 
upbraided him for his conduct, and putting 
her to so much trouble. But, listen, mark 
well what that little boy said to his mother: 
" Don't you know I ought to be about my 
Father's business?" As much as to say, 
mother, you, and you only, know who my 
Father is, and you know that God is my 
Father. You know that I was born from 
your body, not by the will of man, but by 
the will of God. 

The apostle Paul says in his letter to the 
Hebrews, chap, ii : verse 14 : " Forasmuch 



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54 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICA10R. 

then, as the children are partakers of flesh 
and blood, he himself, likewise partook of 
part of the same, that through death he might 
destroy him that had the powor of death, 
that is the devil." As to who the children 
are, here referred to by Paul, we will explain 
that in our lecture on the word, "World." But 
you see, clearly, how Jesus Christ partook of 
flesh only in part, while the children partook 
of it in whole. Jesus, from his mother, par- 
took of flesh only in part, for his Father was 
divine, while the children partook of flesh in 
whole, because their fathers and mothers are 
both fleshly or human. 

We think, while this subject has been 
handled in somewhat of a broken way, that 
we have been plain enough in our explana- 
tions, to cause you to see that natural law 
proves Jesus Christ divine, and eminently 
worthy to be our Savior. We will show 
more clearly, when we come to our lecture 
on the word, "World," our relation to him, and 
how he is our "elder brother." Surely, one 
with such a record and parentage, is worthy 
of our very highest praise and confidence. 
" If you believe in God, believe also in His 
Son, Jesus Christ," for there is a day coming, 
in which every knee must bow to him, and 
every tongue must confess unto God. 

It will make no difference in the justice of 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 55 

His judgment, whether you love Him or not; 
you must bow to Him, either here on earth, 
or when you stand before His judgment bar 
in heaven. God has said, all must bow to 
His Son. You can be obedient to Him, and 
love Him while you live in these natural 
bodies here on earth, and be eternally happy 
through the endless ages of eternity, or you 
can be stubborn, stiff-necked and disobedient 
while you are here on earth, and be misera- 
ble and forsaken through all eternity, if you 
so elect to be. God will not force you to be 
obedient to His Law here on earth. He has 
invited you through His Son, to come to a 
world of eternal happiness, and requires noth- 
ing of you, except such as He has made plain, 
and easy in His Law, the Last Will and 
Testament of His Son. Oh! miserable unbe- 
liever, or wilfully disobedient man, loving 
the deceitfulness of sin here, more than the 
eternal reward offered the righteous through- 
out eternity! Why will you be so foolish? 
Can you, with effect, defy death, here in the 
body? If you can not, neither can you defy 
spiritual death, after this fleeting life is past. 
Why will you not hear and obey the loving 
invitation to eternal life through the Law of 
Jesus Christ? [See Lecture on Life, Death, 
Eternal Life and Eternal Death.] 

As God loved and blessed Israel when obe- 



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5g THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

dient to His Law to them, so will He love and 
bless with eternal life all who love and obey 
His Son's Law. If we did but value what God 
has done for the world, and would study His 
Law in order to have a more perfect knowledge 
of His plans, and requirements, as revealed to 
us by His chosen messengers, and with our 
whole heart love our Savior as we should, and 
place less of our thoughts upon the affairs of 
this short life; racking our brains day and 
night, planning how we can in the quickest 
possible manner amass a fortune for some one 
else to spend after this short life of ours is 
past, and we are gone into that future state 
for which we have made so little preparation, 
we would enjoy this life much better, and be 
prepared to enjoy that life promised only to 
the obedient and faithful. 

Let us lilustrate. Suppose you employ me 
in your service for life, and pay me a good 
salary, and promise me an equal share in your 
estate, and so put it in your will, upon the 
condition that I am at all times faithful to you 
and your interests, and obedient to you, and I 
render to you as little service as possib 10 , and 
that little according to my own plans. And 
I fix the greater part of my thoughts upon a 
business of my own, — one that is at all times 
detrimental to your interests. Would you con- 
sider, if you were the administrator of such a 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



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will, and knoAving all about me, that I was 
entitled to any part of the legacy bequeathed 
by that will? We think not. 

If you are capable of deciding in such a 
case, think you not that God will decide with 
greater wisdom and sterner justice in regard 
to our fidelity to His Son's Law ? Be not 
deceived. God will not be mocked, and not 
punish those who mock Him. He will render 
to all of us, justice. But how many of us will 
be accounted worthy to enter into that rest, 
and receive the great reward promised to the 
pure and righteous? Look at unfaithful Israel, 
when God had borne with them until they 
came so close to, the promised land that only 
a small river separated them from the reward. 
How many of that vast number did God per- 
mit to enter in? Let their example be a warn- 
ing to us all, lest we miss the great reward. 
- As the New Law is a perfect one, and cost 
the Son of God so much to secure the great 
reward, and as His Law is a much easier one 
to be obeyed than the Old Law was, and the 
final reward to the righteous and faithful so 
much greater than that offered Israel, and see- 
ing that we have their example to help us to 
understand our duty to God under the Now 
Law, and knowing that Jesus is now in heaven, 
and in the presence of his Father, to intercede 
for us, will we not be required to give so strict 



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■«J i 5g # THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



an account to Him in the last day, that many 
of us, who now think it will be all right with 
us just because God is so good and loving 
that he will not send us away from Him, or 
deny us Eternal Life, will be mistaken? 

It is true that God loves us, desires us all 
to be happy in the end. But he also loves 
His Son, who was faithful, and did his Fath- 
er's will, too well to allow the disobedient here 
on earth, where Jesus suffered so much, to 
dwell with Him on the beautiful new earth, 
throughout eternity. If we will not love our 
Savior, and live with him here on this earth, 
God will not permit us to live with him in 
Heaven* 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



59 



3l 



What Does the word World Mean as 
Used in the Bible. 



" Behold the Lamb of God that takcth away the Sin of the 
Worlds 



This is the language of John, the fore- 
runner of Christ, and was uttered by John 
after he had baptized Christ in the river 
Jordan. John was one of the witnesses of 
God's introduction of His Son to the world. 
The statement of John has never been denied 
by any. We have tried to prove to you, in 
our lecture on the Divinity of Jesus Christ by 
Natural Law, that he is the divine Son of Clod. 
How well we succeeded, you who heard us, 
must decide. God, in order to perfect His 
great plan of salvation, sent His Son to earth 
to do a certain work. Jesus tells us that his 
first, and greatest object was to establish his 
Father's kingdom on earth. The establish- 
ment of this kingdom on earth, was like 
everything else God had done, for the express 
benefit of man. How much, or to what ex- 



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®- gQ THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. | <®" 

tent man has profited through what God has 
done, will all be made plain, when God shall 
bring the administration of His kingdom to 
an end on earth. 

On account of a sin the world had com- 
mitted at some future time, it was necessary 
in order to the establishment of this kingdom 
on earth, and make it effectual to prepare the 
world for it, or bring them into such a rela- 
tion with God, that they could avail them- 
selves of the benefits of the law that was to 
be given for the government of, and intro- 
duction into this kingdom. The law He gave 
to govern the subjects of this kingdom, is for 
the express purpose of bestowing eternal 
blessings upon the obedient and faithful sub- 
jects of the kingdom. This law, and the 
blessings accruing therefrom, are only appli- 
cable to the inhabitants of this kingdom. 
This law also prescribes just how man can 
become a citizen of this kingdom. The world 
was in a state of alienation, or irre conciliation 
to God, and had always been so, from the 
time the sin was committed that Jesus came 
to take away, and God could not establish 
His kingdom on earth, until a reconciliation 
was effected. Jesus accomplished this recon- 
ciliation, for we are told that God was in 
him, reconciling the world unto Himself. 
The word world is used so often in the bible, 



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3 
THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. g1 1 ® 

and is used in such connection, that we are 
led to believe that it constitutes a definite 
class, in some form. By the language of 
John, we not only learn that it is a definite 
class, but, that in some way, the world had 
committed a definite sin of some kind, or 
character, and by, or through that sin had 
become separated, or irreconciled to God. It 
also teaches us that the world had been at 
one time, connected, or in reconciliation with 
God. This sin that Jesus came, and took 
away, was the direct cause of the irreconeilia- 
tion between God and the world. We will 
now endeavor to show who, or what is meant 
in the bible by the word "World.*' 

We all acknowledge that the book of the 
Old Law was given to the children of Israel 
by Moses, and the book of the New Law was 
given to the entire world by Jesus Christ. 
The Old Law was for the government of the 
inhabitants of the Mosaical kingdom. The 
New Law was for the government of the in- 
habitants of God's kingdom, that Jesus Christ 
established on earth. These two laws are rad- 
ically dissimilar to each other. Given for en- 
tirely different purposes, and intended to ac- 
complish entirely different results. We have 
also the Book of Revelations, wiiich has an 
entirely different object from either of these 
laws. This Book of Revelation is an arch, 

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62 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



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that overspans both of the other books. John, 
the Revel ator, deals with things that occurred 
before God created man, as well as with things 
that will occur after time shall cease, and all 
earth and earthly things shall have been oblit- 
erated. We look into this arch of revelations, 
and there find the key of knowledge that opens 
to us sublime, grand and inexhaustible fields for 
research in God's dealings with this world, of 
which we are talking. 

God has not left so much of His work for the 
world in mystery and doubt, as the theologians 
would fain make us believe He has. Why 
should God do all He has, and yet send His 
Son to earth to establish our Father's kingdom 
on earth, and then give us a law clothed in 
mystery, and hold the world responsible for a 
faithful obedience and practice of His Law? 
Would a law clothed in mystery prove to us 
that God loves us, and desires us all to be eter- 
nally happy in the end? No! Do not believe 
it, for it is not a law that is hard to be under- 
stood, or obeyed. Jesus says it is very sim- 
ple. So simple that a man with a weak mind 
need not err in it. 

All we have to do in order to know what 
we are, where we came from, and realize and 
understand the language of Jesus and His 
apostles, in regard to God's dealing with and 
demands of the world, is, to lay aside for a 

fe —S 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. Q% | ©" 

time all our preconceived ideas of the bible, 
derived from the teachings of others, and study 
it for ourselves, and let it be our guide into 
all truth. 

Many of us have formulated our faith in 
God, and our knowledge of His Law from what 
others have told us for the past decade of 
years. From this source has grown many, if 
not all the erroneous faiths or religions. Look 
around you and see how many different forms 
of worship of God there are now in the land, 
and then ask yourselves how can all this heter- 
ogeneous mass of forms be reconciled with the 
sayings and teachings of such passages a? 9 
"There is but one Lord, one Faith, and one 
Baptism." " If any man teach any other doc- 
trine than I have taught, let him be aecursed." 
Jesus says, " Ye are my friends, if ye do what- 
soever I command you." "For whosoever 
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in 
one point, he is guilty of all." Surely, if God 
was so strict with Israel in regard to their 
worship of Him, will He not hold us equally 
accountable for the manner in which we wor- 
ship Him? He certainly will not accept any 
form of worship but the correct one. But 
some will ask, what is the correct form by 
which to worship God? Just what Jesus and 
his apostles have laid down in the Law of 
Life given for our guidance. Jesus gave the 



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« 1 g4 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

law by which we can become citizens of the 
kingdom on earth, as well as the law to 
govern our conduct after we have become 
citizens of the kingdom. 

The more clearly to understand ourselves, 
we will now proceed to give our views, as we 
have gained them from a careful study of the 
bible, as to what is meant in the bible by 
the word, "World." We do not ask any to 
aecept our views, except in so far as we are 
sustained by the teachings of the bible. But 
we ask all to study this subject in the bible 
for themselves. 

The manner in which we will deal with this 
subject, we have no doubt, will be entirely 
new to all. Yet, we will try to be logical in 
all we say. There is certainly a meaning to 
what John said, when he pointed out Christ 
to his followers, and told them to behold the 
"Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
the world." Christ's mission on earth was to 
establish his Father's kingdom on earth, and 
take away a sin the world had committed. 
Whatever this sin was, the entire world had 
committed it, and that too, before Christ came 
on earth. Jesus has nowhere said that any 
one else had committed this sin for us. The 
sin was our own, and all were guilty. Adam 
it is true, did commit the sin of unbelief, and 
disobedience in the garden of Eden. But, 



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— ^ 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. Qty 



are we not all guilty of the same sin every 
day? Whatever sin it was that Jesus came 
to take away, is not now here, nor will it 
ever be held against us, for Jesus said on the 
cross, "Father, it is finished." The work was 
done. The sin was taken away, and the entire 
world is again reconciled to God through the 
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

In starting out to ascertain what is meant 
by the word World, we ask you to read Rev. 
xii : 4, 7 : You see here, that the third part of 
the spirits of heaven — the number that believed 
the lie of Satan, and turned away from their 
first love, God, — were cast out of heaven by 
satan. This third part were not in the war, 
neither were they cast out by Michael, but by 
satan. Satan, together with all who fought 
with him against Michael and his angels, were 
cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels. 

Listen! Hear what the Revelator, who is 
revealing this to us, says : u Their place, (the 
devil and his angels) are no more found in 
heaven." These are reserved unto eternal dam- 
nation. Mot so with the " third part." Their 
place is still there. Jesus said, " In my Fath- 
er's house are many mansions, else, I would 
have told you. I go to prepare a place for 
you; that where I am, there you may be also." 
This place in heaven from which this third 
part fell, is still there, and God's plan of sal- 



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gg THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. : 

vation is to permit all of this third part to 
come back and be eternally happy, that will 
accept Jesus Christ as God's Son, and the 
savior of this world, and be obedient to his 
laws. 

However, this sin of forsaking God and 
cleaving to the devil was of such a nature 
that God could not give a law through which 
this world, or third part, could be redeemed, 
until His Son came, for through him, and him 
only, could this sin be removed, and the great 
reconciliation be accomplished. God could not 
reprieve this third part, and take them back 
home again, and be just to the other two thirds 
that did not sin. This " third part " had 
sunken so low that there was no arm in heaven 
that could in justice reach down to them, nor 
hand that could raise them up, until God laid 
help upon one that was mighty and able to 
save, and he came to their rescue. 

God inaugurated His great plan of salva- 
tion. He loved those spirits, and pitied them, 
but justice must be done. This third part had 
nothing they could give; there was nothing 
thev could do. But God's Christ loved them 
for they were of his brethren, and he interceded 
with his Father for them. But for the devil 
and his angels he asked nothing, because his 
Father had consigned them to an irrevocable 
and endless punishment. For it was through 

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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. QJ 

the devil and his angels that the " third part " 
were induced to forsake God. Jesus told the 
devil that he was the father of lies. The devil 
was the first, the beginner of liars. 

God accepted the offering His Christ made, 
and then formulated His great plan of salva- 
tion, and gave the care of this third part en- 
tirely into the hands of His Son. God said 
to His Christ, let us make man in our own 
image. From this expression we infer that a 
eonsultation was going on between God and 
His Christ in regard to all their plans of cre- 
ation, for, as we have said in a former lecture, 
that God created all things on earth for the 
express benefit and happiness of man. They 
created, or made out of the dust of the earth, 
the body, or man. They then caused the 
breath to enter his nostrils, and placed a spirit, 
one of the number of the third part that satan 
cast out of heaven, in their bodies, and Adam 
became a living soul. 

God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply 
and replenish the earth, so that there might 
be bodies for all this third part, for God cre- 
ated the body of man to be the home of a 
spirit. Whenever a child is born, and breathes, 
a spirit is placed in the body. Upon this we 
will speak more fully in our lecture on Life, 
Death, Eternal Life and Death. 

God promised Adam before He drove him 



© a 



g3 THB BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

out of the garden of Eden, that the seed of 
the woman should bruise the serpent's head. 
God changed His plans for this third part, or 
world, after Adam's sin. . What His plans were 
for this third part, or the world, had not Adam 
sinned, He has not seen proper to tell us. The 
sin this third part, or the world, had commit- 
ted, was not removed until Jesus came. " He 
that committeth sin is of the devil; for the 
devil sinneth from the beginning. For this 
purpose was the Son of God manifested, that 
he might destroy the works of the devil.'' 
1 John: iii: 8. 

The first work of the devil was when he de- 
ceived the third part of the spirits in heaven. 
His second work was when he caused Adam 
and Eve to sin in the garden. These works 
of the devil Jesus came to destroy. Through 
the plan of the Old Law God brought man- 
kind up to a stage that justified God in send- 
ing His Son to earth to make the reconcilia- 
tion for the sin of the entire third part, and 
so undo the work that Satan wrought in the 
body God made pure and holy, in the begin- 
ning in the garden, that a way should be pre- 
pared by which all could come back to God, 
if they desired so to do. Jesus gave the final 
and Perfect Law for the guidance of the spirit, 
if it was obeyed. God did not give, nor de- 
sign the Old Law for this world, or third part, 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. Q() 

but gave it to only a few. [See Lecture on 
the Bible.] 

The prophet said, " The body must return to 
the dust from whence it came, but the spirit 
to the God who gave it." Peter asked God 
to give back the life of the little maid, and 
her spirit came again. Thus signifying that 
her spirit had come and lived in her body 
once before. This original sin, committed in 
heaven, was not atoned for under the Old Law. 
Hence the " World" was not reconciled unto 
God until Jesus came and died, and arose 
again. His blood was shed for the remission 
of sin. As soon as Jesus died, and arose again, 
that act took away the ' sin of the world, or 
"third part," and now are we permitted to 
address God, as our Father. We are forbid- 
den by Jesus Christ to call any man our Father 
in a spiritual sense. Matthew xxiii: 9. 

The spirit is not begotten by man, as our 
bodies were, neither is it born of our mother, 
as our bodies were. Whatever is sired by 
man, and born of woman, is entirely earthly, 
as our bodies were made out of the dust of 
the earth, and must of necessity return back 
to earth again, when the spirit goes out of 
them. All who had lived in human bodies 
from Adam down to the day Jesus Christ 
died and arose again, and the spirit had 
gone out of them, and back into hades, were 



i 



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70 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

yet under the curse of the first sin; the sin 
they committed when the world, or third part, 
were cast out of heaven, and were separated, 
dead, or irreconciled to God. They were yet 
prisoners under tlie first sin. Peter say? 
Jesus was put to death in the flesh, that is, 
his spirit was separated from his body for a 
, time; but being quickened by the Holy Spirit 
he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 
He set the prisoners at liberty; for it was 
necessary that Jesus should go to these spirits 
as he came to man on earth. Jesus con- 
quered Satan on earth, conquered him in 
hades, took the keys, or power of death from 
him, stripped him of all the power he had 
held over this third part, or the world, ever 
since he cast them out of heaven, arose from 
the grave, the King of Kings, and Lord of 
Lords. Paul says the children, spirits of the 
third part, partook of flesh and blood, and 
Jesus, in order to accomplish his great work 
partook of part of the same. In our lecture 
on the Divinity of Christ, we showed just 
how Jesus only partook of flesh in part. Jesus 
says of the children, world, or third part, 
that "he is not ashamed to call them breth- 
ren." Hebrews, entire second chapter. We 
infer from these, and many other such pas- 
sages, that our spirits are an entity, and have 
a separate individuality, and are not composed 



u 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. ^ , 

of the thin, airy, mystical, undefinable quin- 
tessence of nothing, and exist only in a name, 
as some theologians try to make us believe 
they are. They are of the number the devil 
cast out of heaven, and Jesus came and 
rescued. We are led to take this view from 
the personal tenor of all the scriptures. The 
law God gave the Children of Israel, was not 
a law to the spirit, it was a law to the body; 
the man, as the condition of the spirits, or 
world, was such, that God could not give a 
law to the spirits. The law Jesus Christ 
gave, was a law to the spirit, to the entire 
third part, to the world, and is intended for 
the guidance of the spirits. The devils knew 
Jesus when he came to earth, but he forbade 
them to speak of him, and commanded them 
to hold their peace. It is clear that the 
devils knew nothing about God's great plan 
of salvation for the world. The devils showed 
this conclusively when they asked permission 
to enter into the body of the hog, when 
Jesus commanded them to come out of the 
man. The devils did not know that God 
created the man, as the only body among all 
His created bodies in which a spirit was to 
dwell on earth. 

Jesus once asked the question, " What is 
man better than a sheep?" The bodies of 
both are earthly, and both must return back to 



i 



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72 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

_ . . , . — fc. 

the earth from whence God took them at first. 
In all God's creations He created but one class 
of bodies to be the home of a spirit, and that 
was man. Look at the result, when the devils 
entered the bodies of the hogs. N o sooner had 
the devils entered the bodies of the hogs than 
the hogs became crazy, and unmanageable, and 
broke away from their keepers, and rushed 
madly down into the water, and were drowned. 
Why did the hogs act in this way? Because 
there was a spirit in their bodies, and God had 
not intended it to be so. In the great plan 
of creation God did not intend that anybody 
below^ man should be the home of a spirit, 
either good or bad. He created the animal 
body for the good of man, but he created the 
man's body for the good of the world — the 
spirits of the third part, for the glory of God, 
and a means for the final return of all of the 
third part, providing they would accept the 
conditions of His plan, and be obedient to Him. 
■N*aw that Jesus Christ has removed the sin 
that was committed by the world, or third part, 
and has wrought a reconciliation between God 
and the world, there remains no more sin to 
be answered for, except such as are committed 
by man. Man must first come to the age of 
accountability. An age at which he can com- 
prehend the law Jesus gave for the govern- 
ment of the spirit while it is in these natural 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VIND1CATOI 



"K 



bodies, and through the power, privileges and 
blessings of the law to the spirit, govern the 
body, and present it a daily sacrifice to God. J 
fit for the indwelling of His spirit with our 
spirit, before he is accountable for sins com- 
mitted. Sin, when once committed, defiles the 
body, and God's holy spirit will not dwell in 
a body defiled daily by sin. Numerous pas- 
sages spring up at once in your minds prov- 
ing this assertion to be true. The only infer- 
ences in the bible that will in any way give 
us light upon the subject, as to the age at 
which children become accountable for their 
conduct before God, are two. These two are 
merely inferences. The one is under the Old 
Law, the other under the 'New Law. One was 
where God called Samuel. The other is when 
we find Jesus in the temple, and hear his reply 
to his mother. Both were twelve years old. 

In regard to the third part, and the word 
world being one and the same, and the sin 
committed being the sin committed in heaven, 
and rendering all dead unto God, we infer is 
correct, from the following passages. The re- 
ply Jesus gave to those who asked to go and 
bury their dead friends, when he told them to 
follow him. Matthew, viii : 22. " Let the dead 
bury their dead." As we have shown, all were 
dead unto God for Jesus had not yet died, and 
all were yet prisoners under their first sin. 



9> ®_ 

c — ■ — » 

Y4 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

All up to that time were yet in a state of 
separation, irreconciliation from God. They 
were dead, spiritually. [See Lecture on Life 
and Death], 

Taking the third part to mean the same as 
the word world, we can then see and under- 
stand clearly how the Old Law was not a per- 
fect law, and how that all, up to the coming 
of Christ, were spiritually dead, and how that 
all bodies were conceived in the mother's womb 
in iniquity and born under sin. How, at this 
time, and ever since the death and resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ, bodies were not conceived 
in iniquity and born under sin. Jesus took 
that sin away. For through his death and res- 
urrection all the entire third part were redeemed 
and made alive unto God. In consequence of 
the sin of the third part, all were dead unto 
God; but through Jesus Christ were all made 
alive unto God, and through obedience to the 
gospel he promises eternal life. 

If we are not saved; if we lose eternal life; 
if we are not made happy throughout all 
eternity; it will be because we have not lived 
as the law given by Jesus Christ requires us 
to live in this life here in the body. If we 
formulate a system of worship different in the 
least point from the system God has given, 
or if we allow others to formulate such a 
system for us, God wid nut be pleased with 



ft 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



ft 



us, nor Avill Jesus acknowledge us before his 
Father, and his holy angels. What more 
could God do for this third part, the world, 
than He has already done? What more could 
Jesus Christ do; what greater love for his 
brethren could he manifest, than he has 
already manifested? 

He saw us in our lost, forlorn, and utterly 
dead condition; heard our wails of anguish, 
and saw that his Father could not take us 
back unconditionally, and be just to the other 
two-thirds who did not sin. We were of his 
brethren, all of the same Father, though we 
voluntarily brought our misery upon ourselves. 
Yet his loving heart pitied us; and he w r ent 
to his Father and plead for us, begged for 
some plan that would not do violence to his 
Father's justice, by which our terrible condi- 
tion could be ameliorated. God is a just 
God, though a loving one. He loved His 
Christ, and He accepted the offered atonement, 
and as you are all familiar with your bibles, 
you see how we are situated to-day. 

Who has a heart so hard, or who is so in- 
different to the great sacrifice and sufferings 
of our savior, as not to love him, and accept 
his easy terms of salvation: obey his law, aud 
his only, and finally meet our loving elder 
brother aud savior, and live with him in the 
presence of our loving Father through the 



76 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

endless ages of eternity! But, rest assured, 
though Jesus secured the free pardon of all, 
and redeemed all, he requires all to obey his 
Father's law given to the world, third part, 
through him, and will not bless any other, 
though many are trying to come to him through 
their own laws and forms of worship. The 
only thing that will condemn us, in the great 
day of accounts, will be the sins we commit 
while we live here in these bodies. Jesus has 
done all he could for us. Did it because he 
loved us. He has given us a very plain, simple 
and easy law, and leaves it all with us to decide 
I whether we wish to be saved or not. 

Consider that the spirit, the life-giving prin- 
ciple of our body, is one of the third part 
that satan cast out of heaven, and means the 
same as world, and you can understand why 
the Old Law was not a law of life and liberty, 
and why God gave it to so" few of mankind. 
You can also understand why it was that Jesus 
died, and what sin he took away, and how God 
was in him reconciling the world to himself. 
You can also understand what is meant when 
our savior said he did not need to have man 
testify to him of man, for he knew what was 
in man. He knew where the spirit that is in 
man came from, and why it was there, and 
what his Father's plan of salvation was for. 
"We can, in this way, realize how it is that 



ft 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 77 

the law God gave through His Son is a per- 
fect law, and a law of life. We can also real- 
ize that it is for the government of the spirit, 
and the body through the spirit. We can 
more fully and appreciatively understand why 
Jesus has commanded us to love one another, 
and bear one another's burdens. We can fur- 
ther see why it is our duty to obey the law 
he has given, just as it is, without any ques- 
tionings, alterations or variations. He knew 
all about man, and why God created his body, 
and he knew that many would come up in later 
years, and get up all manner and kind of forms 
of worship to sustain human creeds; and for 
that reason, and a protection, he gave us so 
easy and simple a law. 

There are some things commanded in His 
Law we cannot comprehend the object he had 
in view, but all such commands are very easy 
to be obeyed. He has commanded us to keep 
our bodies pure, so they will be fit for his 
Father's holy spirit to dwell in, with our spir- 
its. In our study of the Law of Christ, if we 
will but realize that our spirits had their origin 
in the way we have shown, and consider the 
law is at all times addressed to our spirits, and 
designed for their guidance, we can fully and 
clearly understand what Jesus meant when he 
said God was a spirit, and He sought such to 
worship Him. We can then clearly understand 



rft 



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®l 78 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



what is meant when it is said, we must be born 
again of the holy spirit, and our bodies must 
be baptized in water. A full and complete 
obedience to all the requirements of the law 
Jesus gave, through the agency of his apostles, 
will give us our home in heaven again. 

We all believe in a God of justice and mercy. 
It is universally admitted that our spirit is not 
born of our mother, but that it comes from 
God, in some way, and at some time after birth 
of the body, and enters it. But just how, or 
what for, or when, our great theological col- 
leges have never told us. If our spirits come 
from God, and theology be true, and He sends 
one directly from heaven to enter human bodies 
as fast as such bodies are born, they must be 
a part of God's great family, and of necessity 
be pure and happy. If this theory be true, 
how can love, mercy and justice be shown? 
Would a God of love, justice and mercy, send 
a pure, innocent spirit, to dwell in a human 
body; subject it to all the sin and weaknesses 
of humanity, and then make a law to govern 
the spirit and body, and make it so mystical 
that man cannot understand it, and yet, if the 
entire law is not kept, condemn the spirit to 
endless punishment for failing to comprehend 
and obey such a law? Yet, if we are to ac- 
cept the orthodox teachings, we must believe 
it. Where can love, mercy and justice be 

fe "FP 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



shown by the doctrine taught to-day? Would 
God take a pure, innocent and happy spirit 
out of heaven and treat it in that way? Our 
own sense of justice rebels against such a 
doctrine. We do not claim that our views of 
this subject are absolutely true in every de- 
tail, but we do claim that our views in sub- 
stance are sustained by God's Laws, both Old 
and New, and that it shows a love, justice 
and mercy, that angels can not fathom. A 
justice that none but a God could be the 
author of. A mercy that the highest arch- 
angels of heaven look upon and shout for joy, 
and sing the highest carols of heaven as a 
testimony of their appreciation of a God, like 
our God. ~No wonder that the angels of 
heaven, as well as all the morning stars sang 
songs of praise and shouted hallelujah until 
the heavens gave back the sound, when they 
saw Jesus, the mighty conqueror, arise from 
the grave, and they realized that at last their 
brethren, the third part, had an opportunity 
given them to come back to their happy 
homes again. There is one thing that must 
of necessity be true, and that is, our spirits 
are certainly as old as the creation of Adam 
and Eve. We have no account of God creat- 
ing anything after He created mother Eve; 
and our spirits are created, and not born like 
our bodies are. If our spirits come directly 

■^ ^ 



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gQ THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

from heaven, they must of necessity be pure 
and happy, for nothing impure or unhappy 
is permitted to dwell in heaven. Does not 
our line of reasoning show clearly to all that 
we are sustained by the scriptures? 

Surely, man should love and praise God for 
His loving plan of salvation, and the gift of 
His beloved son for our sakes, when we were 
utterly lost, if angels and the morning stars 
could sing songs of praise and joy when the 
great plan of redemption was perfected by 
Jesus Christ, when he came and removed the 
sin of the entire third part, and brought them 
back into such a relation with God, that they 
were permitted to approach into His presence 
and call Him, Abbie, Father. The very 
thought that God is our Father, and know- 
ing that a father loves his own, should we 
not love Him more than our own poor mortal 
lives? What is earth and all its high honors, 
its fleeting pleasures, its treasures, which in 
themselves kill, when compared with what 
God, through His Son, has promised those 
who love Him and keep His commandments? 

Surely the man is short-sighted, and wil- 
fully, and purposely wicked and disobedient 
if he refuses to love, honor and obey the Law 
of such a savior, as God's Son. Depend no 
longer upon such foolish, unlearned and illog- 
ical faith as, God will save all in the end 



<» THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. gl © 

any how. Has He not expressly said that 
"the spirit that sins shall surely die?' 7 Jesus 
did redeem all, but he requires all to obey 
His Law, and will just as surely punish all 
who disobey and sin, as he redeemed all from 
the sin they committed when satan threw 
them out of heaven. Do not trifle with God 
and His Son, for they have not trifled with 
you. Jesus died for you, now you do him 
honor by loving him, and being obedient to 
His Law, and be not conformed to human tra- 
ditions, and bound by human made rules and 
laws, and God will bless you through all 
eternity. 



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g2 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



^ 



Baptism, from a Bible Standpoint 



" He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 

We have no doubt but many will take fright 
at mention of this subject, because it is one 
upon which no two churches agree. Why 
this is so, we are unable to tell, unless it is, 
that the authors of all church creeds and laws 
are human beings like ourselves. While we 
propose to handle this subject before you to- 
night, we desire all to understand in the start, 
that we are not talking to defend, or uphold 
any special church, or human devised theory, 
for we propose to prove that there is not a 
church in the land that administers this divine 
command of God according to the plain and 
logical teachings of the law. 

We do not wish, nor intend to bolster up 
any theories, or church doctrines, but try to 
induce all to read the Law of the Lord for 
themselves, in its own logical light. There is 
a plainness about the teachings of the Law 

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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



83 



of our Lord that makes it very easy of com- 
prehension, when studied with an unbiased 
mind. A plainness that makes it explain 
itself. The greatest cause of uncertainty, one 
that causes so many that profess religion to- 
day, to answer when asked if they are chris- 
tians, they hope they " are, is that too many 
are led blindly. We are so greedy for wealth, 
or greatness, or else so criminally negligent 
that we are ever ready to accept a form of 
religious faith that is very flexible, or of which 
few have really any knowledge at all, only 
that some certain church has told us that the 
bible teaches such and such a doctrine. Such 
persons never stop long enough in their worldly 
pursuits to study the bible for themselves. If 
they will stop for a while, and study God's 
Laws, they will find that the law of life speaks 
of but one religion, the religion of Jesus Christ. 
There is but one law that governs this relig- 
ion, and as it is the religion of Jesus Christ, 
lie gave the law that enables us to obtain it. 
Suppose, in the days of the children of Israel, 
you could have asked one of them if he was 
an Israelite? Do you suppose he would have 
answered like so many to-day do, when asked 
if they are christians, he hoped he was? Why, 
he would have answered with a ring in his 
voice. 

Why these evasive answers when asked if 



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84 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



you are christians? Do you know and under- 
stand the law that enables you to become 
christians? If not, listen to us to-night, with 
an unbiased mind, and we will endeavor to 
explain part of that law to you in such a way 
as to make it plain to you, for we have only 
the law of Jesus Christ as our guide, and we 
shall be careful to say only such things as 
the plain teachings of His Law prove to be 
correct. 

God, under the old Mosaical Law did not 
require water baptism. The law Jesus Christ 
gave to the world as his Father's Last and 
Perfect Law, is very plain upon this subject. 
As we have said in a former lecture, we may 
not, and in fact we cannot, nor is it necessary 
that we should understand why Jesus has com- 
manded us to be baptized in water. We can 
not comprehend the object to be obtained by 
water baptism, only in so far as he has told 
us what it was for in His Law. He knew for 
what he commanded it, and what object he 
had in view by the command. There is one 
thing certain in this matter, and that is, it is 
an ordinance, given by the wisdom of our sa- 
vior, in which all, rich or poor, ignorant or 
learned, high or low, must meet on a common 
level, if they wish to become true followers 
of our savior, and be known by his name, and 
obtain citizenship in his Father's kingdom on 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 35 



earth. This commandment is acknowledged 
by all denominations that acknowledge Jesus 
Christ as the son of God, and is practiced in 
some form. 

Right here we ask the careful thought of 
our hearers. Have you carefully studied the 
law Jesus gave the world through his chosen 
and divinely guided apostles, for yourselves, or 
have you, like we did for a long time, allowed 
your church or some one else to guide you, in- 
stead of coming to Jesus through a careful and 
prayerful study of His Law, and been guided 
by it> and it only? Remember, "the gospel Is 
the power of God unto salvation, to all who be- 
lieve it." Jesus will hold us all individually re- 
sponsible for how we study His Law. The law 
he has given will be the standard by which he 
will judge us in the last great day. Can your 
church, or any one else, guarantee unto you 
eternal life through their laws and guidance? 
This is strictly a personal business to us all. 
Water baptism being a direct command, is not 
denied by any. Yet, some claim that it is not 
an essentia] command. That it is merely em- 
blematic, and does not amount to much anyhow; 
thus making very light of it, and place them- 
selves as dictators of Christ and place their 
own judgment in opposition, and as superior to 
that of Christ's. They do not only say it is not 
an essential in the plan of salvation, but so teach 
it to others. 



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3g THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

Right here we expect some one in our audi- 
ence is saying we are trying to sustain the 
cause of some certain sect. God in heaven 
forgive us if such a thought ever entered our 
heart. We speak, and plead for our Master's 
cause in the hearts of all. If you have from 
the heart fully obeyed that form of doctrine 
delivered by the apostles to the saints, and you 
continue faithful to the end, you will not be 
asked what church you belonged to on earth. 
It is to such as have not obeyed, or are fol- 
lowing human-made creeds and laws, we speak. 
Certainly, the son of God was competent to 
give us a law, which, if obeyed from a love 
of him, would be sufficient to guarantee to us 
eternal life without burdening it with non-essen- 
tial commands. If baptism is not essential to 
our salvation, why did Jesus say to John, when 
he requested him to baptize him, that it be- 
came both of them to fulfill all righteousness? 
If baptism is a part of righteousness, even if 
it is ever so small a part, how can any one 
be saved who refuses to be baptized, and claims 
water baptism as anon-essential; a thing Jesus 
had no right to command ? It amounts to 
claiming that Jesus did not understand what 
he was sent here to do, and in order to make 
a showing of his power, and display his author- 
ity, he placed in his Law of Eternal Life a lot 



3k 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR- g^ I® 

of non-essential and ignorant commands. It 
amounts to that, and nothing else, and it does 
not matter how such would-be leaders and 
teachers may try to explain it away, Jesus did 
either know and do what was his Father's will 
in giving to the world his universal law, or 
else he did not, and was incompetent for the 
work. 

The ark of the covenant, you remember, was 
a little thing, but you also remember that lit- 
tle thing became too big a thing to be kept 
by the Phillistines anywhere in their country, 
and they were glad to take the little thing 
back home again. Sometimes, what men think 
are little, non-essential things in God's plan of 
salvation, prove to be big things if disobeyed. 
Which side of this question will you take? 
Will you agree with those self-constituted and 
presumptuous dictators of God's only and be- 
loved son, or will you take a bold stand on the 
Lord's side, and gather with him, defend him, 
and obey his law with all its commands, and 
rely on him to take care of you when that 
great day comes that will try every man's 
work? We take it for granted that your good 
judgment will place you on the Lord's side. 
It is not every one who says Lord, Lord, in 
a solemn way, who is his true follower. It 
matters not how long they may have been thus 
calling out. His followers obey all his corn- 



<5lj 



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gg THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

mands. If this Law of Eternal Life is bur- 
dened with non-essential commands, how can 
it be a perfect law? It is as we have said 
before, and an expression we borrow from our 
Lord, that many men (and churches too) have 
hewn out unto themselves, not unto God, cis- 
terns that will hold no water. These cisterns 
are nothing more nor less than human names 
and opinions of God and His Law; shaped 
into church creeds, laws and forms of worship, 
and requirements that are for the glory of the 
man, or individual church, and not for the glory 
of God. How can such honor God, when they 
dishonor His Son, and the law given the world 
by him? We are taking strong grounds we 
know, but we will endeaver, by God's bless- 
ings, to prove to all that these grounds are 
defended not by the wisdom of man, but by 
the plain teachings of God and His Son. In 
giving the world His last and Perfect Law, 
the sealed, stamped, and attested will of the 
great prince of heaven, the son of the only 
true and living God, it behooved the testator 
to give a will exactly in accordance with the 
law granting and defending such a right. It 
requires an established law to make a last will 
or testament a legal instrument. But, if the 
doctrine of some men and churches be true, 
this Last "Will and Testament of Jesus Christ 
can be broken before the law making such an 



3 @_ 

THE F.IRLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. §9 , 

instrument legal. But, remember, after a will 
has been probated it can not be broken. Re- 
member, also, that this Last Will and Testa- 
ment of our Lord has already been probated 
before the high court of heaven, and God, the 
great judge, has pronounced it a legal instru- 
ment. Therefore, be careful how you tamper 
with this will of the great Prince of heaven, 
or you will invalidate your legacy bequeathed 
by this will. Better, by far, to obey all its 
commands, though you may not be able to com- 
prehend the design and object of all its require- 
ments. 

If it pleased the maker of this will, to require 
certain things, the design of which he chose 
to withhold from the legatees, what is that to 
us? We had, no right to be consulted by the 
Testator, in the matter of making this Last 
Will of Jesus Christ. If he so loved the world 
as to be willing to give up his vast wealth of 
eternal glory, in order to enrich us, so that we 
could be able in the last great day to be ac- 
counted worthy of that clean, white robe, that 
all must have when they are to be taken by 
our savior to his Father, for His blessings of 
eternal life, should not we, poor miserable 
wretches that we are, that by our own sin in 
believing the lie promulgated by satan, and 
lost our first estate in heaven, be satisfied? 
Should not we be more than thankful, that 



c& 



_9 



90 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



^ 



©i 



Jesus so loved us, as to come to our rescue, 
redeem us from under that sin, and reconcile 
us, through his death, back to God again, and 
give us a law by which we can reinstate our- 
selves with the Father of all, and be sure of 
His love and blessings again, if we are but 
obedient and obey all His commands? Be- 
lieve it, my hearers, and gladly obey it with 
a whole heart, for Jesus is greater than man, 
or any set of men, though they all claim to be 
doctors of divinity. There has been too much 
doctoring done already. 

It pleased Jesus to command water baptism. 
Let us see if water baptism is sanctioned by 
God, and if this divine command is properly 
obeyed and properly administered by those who 
teach it. God was so particular about the com- 
ing of His Son, and his mission to earth that 
He sent a herald before him to prepare the 
way for his advent, by stirring up the minds 
of the Jews, so as to have them receive him. 
John came, not as men ordinarily come. He 
did not seek to stir up the popular sentiment, 
as is generally done when some great per- 
sonage is about to visit a country. On the 
contrary, John repaired to the wilderness, and 
began his heraldistic work by proclaiming to 
the people that the time had arrived for the 
coming of one who was greater than himself. 
He admonished the people, and administered 



U e> 



4 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. gj 

the ordinance of water baptism with an object 
in view. That object was to prepare the peo- 
ple for the coming* of Christ, that when God 
introduced His Son to the world, they would 
accept him as the one long promised by God 
through the mouth of His prophets. John had, 
by God's direct blessings, become so popular, 
that everybody from city and country went out 
to hear him. He preached unto them repent- 
ance, and water baptism for remission of sins. 
Thus, all who came, believing that the coming 
of Jesus was near at hand, and confessed 
their sins, he baptized them in the river of 
Jordan, for remission of sins. If, under John's 
preaching, sins were remitted through repent- 
ence and water baptism, and Jesus had not 
yet been introduced to the world, nor began 
his great work, it shows us plainly that God 
had an object in view, in this work John was 
doing. All we know about John is, that he 
was the fore-runner of Christ, and his baptism 
must have been of God, or God would not 
have said what He did when Jesus was bap- 
tized by John. With John, baptism was cer- 
tainly one of God's ordinances. Just why 
God sent John to administer the ordinance of 
baptism in water, we know not, only it was 
one of His means of preparing the Jews for 
the coming of His Son. Why God chose the 
manner He did to prepare the way for His 



r- 

® i 92 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

Son, we know not. It is plainly none of our 
business what manner God chose to do His 
work on earth. What business is it of ours 
what plan God took to establish His kingdom 
on earth? It was God's kingdom Jesus came 
to establish on earth, and God constituted 
His Son the Prince and Law-Giver of His 
kingdom. This was God's business, and not 
man's, though in it all, God had the ^ood of 
man in view. Man had done nothing that 
merited such work on God's part. It was a 
manifest proof that God loved His creatures, 
though they forsook Him, and believed the 
lie promulgated by satan in heaven. 

If you will carefully examine God's dealings 
with the Children of Israel, you will see that 
He constantly kept their minds fixed upon the 
very events that transpired in the time of 
John. Though these chosen children were 
very disobedient to God, yet for the sake of 
His covenant with Abraham, He sent His Son 
to them that He might thereby be the end of 
the law given through Moses, before He gave 
His la*t aud perfect law to the world. He 
sent John to the Jews only. Notwithstanding 
all this, they had so completely covered up 
with their human traditions and laws the true 
law God gave them, that they had almost 
forgotten that God had promised to send them 
a deliverer. "When Jesus came, He told them 



rffcf. -i* 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 93 ^> 



they were teaching* for commandments the 
doctrine of men. What would he say were 
he* to come to earth to-day? To such an 
alarming extent have the doctrines and com- 
mandments of men grown into the minds and 
hearts of men, that it is almost impossible 
to get them to realize that they are not obey- 
ing the commandments of God, but the com- 
mandments of men. Some are so far gone, 
that when approached upon this subject, they 
will tell you it does not make any difference, 
it is faith that saves them any how. They 
have come to believe, notwithstanding God 
has commanded in as plain language as pos- 
sible, that eternal life hangs upon a full 
obedience to His law and commandments, 
that all God requires in these days is just to 
believe that He is God, and Jesus Christ is 
His Son, and they are at liberty to worship 
Him by any law they choose to formulate, 
just so God is mentioned in it. Are there 
not men going over the country, making many 
believe that all they have to do to become a 
true christian, is just to confess they love the 
Lord Jesus Christ? 

Why will thinking men and women be so 
blind? Can they not read that God requires 
a full obedience to the whole law, as well as 
a pure love for Him and His Son? God has 
said that every knee shall bow to His Son, 



Lie) 



<Wi 



94 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and every tongue shall confess nnto Him. 
God must be obeyed, and not man. Many 
have been educated from their infancy, under 
these human forms of worship, and because 
these human forms have gathered to them- 
selves hundreds of thousands of devotees, they 
really must, from this cause, be better than 
the plain, simple form of law given by our 
Savior. Because, like as in the days of Christ, 
these human forms have gathered into their 
folds, men of talent, and millions of wealth, 
many claim they are equally as good, if not 
better than God's plan, and blindly believe 
that God will accept such worship, just because 
they love it and their fathers and mothers be- 
lieved it. If such do stop long enough to study 
God's Law a little, it is only to distort it, and 
attempt to fashion it to suit their human forms. 
Such never attempt to make their human creeds 
exactly agree with the Law of God. Jesus 
came and established his Father's kingdom on 
earth ; arranged all things for its opening to the 
world for their acceptance or rejection, but he 
delegated the power of opening the kingdom 
and promulgating the law of the kingdom to 
his apostles. John had completed his work, 
and gone home; and Jesus his work, and gone 
to the presence of his Father. When, in the 
wisdom of God, the proper time had come, 
His plans and Law were given to the world. 



a_9 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



95 



Just before he took his departure from earth, 
he said to his chosen apostles, " Whose-soever 
sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, 
and whose-soever sins ye retain, they are re- 
tained." John, xx : 23. He breathed on them, 
and told them to receive the holy spirit, for 
he was going away, and would send it in his 
place. God told the Jews to receive His Son, 
but they did not, or do not at this day. The 
apostles did receive the Holy Spirit just as 
soon as God sent it, and by its power and 
guidance, Peter unbound the Law of Jesus 
Christ to the world. Through God's directions 
Jesus had become well known, not only to the 
Jews, but many others, and when the Jews 
assembled for the great Penticostal celebra- 
tion, God sent His holy spirit to the apostles 
of His Son, and they received it, and, guided 
by the holy spirit, Peter unbound the Law of 
Life. While he was preaching Jesus to them, 
and by the law God gave them through Moses, 
evincing to them that God had sent His Son 
to them, and how they had conspired against 
him, and caused his death, and that God had 
raised him from the grave and called him back 
home again, they were pricked in their hearts, 
and were willing to lay down their human forms 
of worship, with all their creeds and traditions, 
and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles 
what were the commandments of this New 



^ 



4 



96 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



Law. We say commandments, from the fact 
that the Jews for hundreds of years had been 
accustomed to obey by commands. As this 
was a New Law, they wished to know its 
requirements as regarded their conduct in be- 
coming citizens of this new kingdom, under 
this new reign. Peter answered, " Repent 
every one of you, and be baptized in the name 
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and 
you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit." 



Acts. 



11 : 



38. 



This is certainly a command, and not an 
ordinary one, either. God's holy spirit is there, 
and has manifested its presence in a way not 
to be mistaken by any. If we are commanded 
to be baptized for remission of sins, is there 
any other way by which we can have them 
remitted, or come into the kingdom on earth? 
This is certainly the initiatory writ. We are 
all sinners, and cannot be taken into God's 
kingdom on earth with our sins. God, through 
His Son, has graciously given us a law, which 
if obeyed from the heart, will remit our sins 
and naturalize us into His kingdom on earth. 
If repentance and baptism are the naturaliza- 
tion provisions of the law, how can there be 
any other for the same purpose, and one not 
destroy the other? 

The authority Jesus gave his apostles to name 
the terms of the remission of sins is here used, 



<£> U y 



—a _ __ 1 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 97 

and it exactly agrees with what Jesus taught 
them when he said, " He that believeth and is 
baptized, shall be saved." The second chapter 
and 38th verse of Acts of the Apostles is 
the only place in the law where we are told 
how to obtain remission of our sins. By obe- 
dience to the letter and spirit of this part of 
the law, we obtain citizenship in the kingdom 
on earth. There is no other way. It is true, 
if we sin after we have obtained remission of 
our sins and we have entered the kingdom, 
we are told that we have an advocate with the 
great King, even Jesus Christ, the Lord of the 
kingdom on earth, who came to earth and ac- 
complished through his death and resurrection/, 
the great work of our redemption, to whom we 
can come through prayer, and he has promised 
to hear us if we come penitently. He has not 
said, anywhere in his law for the government 
of the kingdom, that he would hear any one, 
no matter how fervent the prayer, if they have 
not become citizens of the kingdom. If he 
did, he would be the author of confusion. 
There is but one command, and that must be 
properly obeyed, both by spirit and body, that 
will admit us into the kingdom on earth, and 
that was given by Peter, on the day of Pen- 
ticost, and stands just where it should, at the 
very beginning of the law of the kingdom. 
We can only enter the kingdom above through 



ft 



^=w 



gg THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

the kingdom on earth. This is why God sent 
His Son to establish His kingdom on earth; so 
that the subjects, or the true followers of 
Christ might, by a faithful continuance of their 
good work in the kingdom on earth, finally 
enter the kingdom above. Is not this logically 
plain to all? 

The next point to ascertain in the line of this 
lecture is, if the churches administer this ordin- 
ance according to the requirements of the law 
given for the government of the kingdom on 
earth. 

When a candidate presents himself with the 
proper credentials for admission into this king- 
dom, do those officiating comply with the law 
in the case? The Prince and Law-Giver of this 
kingdom has told us, " There is but one Lord, 
one Faith, and one Baptism" in this kingdom. 
If the Lord of, and Law-Giver to God's king- 
dom on earth speaks truly, how many human 
kingdoms have been set up against him by 
man, and how many different ways have they 
of bringing citizens into these human kingdoms 
of heaven, different to our Lord and his laws? 

We do not wish to provoke controversy on 
this important subject, but, for the good of our 
Master, and the spirits eternal interest, we de- 
sire to awaken the reasoning powers of our 
hearers, so as to induce • them to study this 
Law of Eternal Life for themselves. Let us 

fe : S# 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 99 

see how this ordinance in the law of our Lord 
is to be administered. First. On the day of 
Pentecost Peter commanded the Jews that 
asked for admission into this kingdom, and us 
through them, to be baptized in the name of 
Jesus Christ for remission of sins, as he knew 
we could not be admitted with our sins. He 
did not command baptism into the names of 
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is a rea- 
son why he did not command baptism in the 
names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we 
will endeavor to explain the reason before we 
get through this lecture. Why Jesus com- 
manded baptism in water for remission of sins, 
we know not. It pleased him, through his 
apostles, to command it, and that is enough, 
and it should be our pleasure to obey the 
command without so much controversy from 
man. We know that whatever Jesus or his 
apostles commanded, was likewise a command 
sanctioned by God, for, on the mountain of 
transfiguration, God commanded the apostles 
to hear what His Son had said. Therefore, 
Jesus told his apostles, or agents, " to go, disci- 
ple all nations, teaching them to observe all 
things whatever I have commanded you, bap- 
tize them in the name of Father, Son and 
Holy Spirit, and lo, I am with you to the end." 
Why were they to do this work in the names 
of Father, Son and Holy Spirit? For this rea- 

*"LJ <8>! • ~~°< o U ' 



100 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

son. These apostles were but the agents of 
the Lord of the kingdom. God sent our Lord 
to earth to set up His kingdom on earth, and 
gave all power in heaven and earth to His 
Son, as regarded this kingdom. The work was 
not of man, but of God, and for the good of 
man, and these apostles were but His agents, 
selected and trained for this work by the Lord 
of the kingdom. Whatever is, therefore, com- 
manded by his apostles is just as binding as 
though uttered by God, Jesus Christ, and the 
Holy Spirit. It was by authority of the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit that water baptism was 
commanded. We will now see why Peter com- 
manded baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, 
for remission of sins. Jesus did many things 
to prove to the world that God sent him, and 
that He did have power on earth to forgive 
sins. All his work was for the good of man, 
and the glory of his Father, the Great King. 
He accomplished his work to the entire satis- 
faction of his Father, and his Father was so 
well pleased with His Son that He has de- 
clared that every knee shall bow to him, and 
every tongue shall confess unto God. Jesus 
was baptized in water by a messenger sent 
by the Great King for the royal purpose. 
Jesus said, " He that honoreth the son, honor- 
eth the Father, also." God, the Great King, 
gave the entire work of the salvation of the 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. JQ1 

world into the hands of His Son. Since the 
* accomplishment of His work, God has consti- 
tuted him our advocate at His bar of justice 
in heaven, and has not said that any man, 
pope, priest, preacher, or church can come to 
Him, or gain a hearing at His bar of justice, 
except they come through His Son, the prince 
of His kingdom on earth. For this reason, 
is every one who wishes to become a citizen 
of His kingdom commanded to be baptized in 
water in the name of Jesus Christ, for remis- 
sion of sins, for, through Him only, can sins 
be remitted. Jesus was our example of His 
own royal law. There is no command to be 
baptized into the names of Father, Son and 
Holy Spirit for the remission of sins. God 
will not be mocked, nor honor any form of 
worship of Him, except the form given the 
world by His Son. Ignorance, or being falsely 
guided, will be of no service as an excuse 
in the last great day, nor can any man, or 
body of men, even if it were the entire w^orld, 
force God to do otherwise than He has com- 
manded by His Son. 

God has plainly said from the beginning of 
time, that He is an unchangeable God. Men 
may invent all the forms, creeds, and rules of 
faith they please, yet there is but one form 
of worship, one faith, and one baptism that 
will be acknowledged by God. In these de- 



r. 



1Q2 THE BIBLE I TS OWN VINDICA10R. 

generate days men are not satisfied with the 
simple plain Law of the Lord of the kingdom,, 
and are trying to make their fellow men be- 
lieve that God did not intend the Law given 
by His Son's apostles was to be the Law now , 
for they claim that man is so much wiser, 
knows so much more, and is better able to 
decide what is best for man now, than Jesus 
did when he was on earth. The great mass 
of mankind has gone wild after these human 
wisdom laws for the worship of God, gotten 
up by man, and many do actually believe 
that all they are required by God to do, is 
just to get up in some big meeting and say 
they love the Lord, and are on His side; when 
many of such parties do not know whether 
the Law by Moses, or the Law by Jesus 
Christ is now in force. What a pity that 
thinking men and women who wish to do 
right, will not stop, and for a time study the 
Law of the kingdom. Such teachers may 
deceive their fellow men who are no better 
posted than themselves, but they can. not 
deceive God. Let us now see if Jesus con- 
sidered water baptism as essential to the 
salvation of those who wish to become citizens 
of his Father's kingdom on earth. He said : 
" He that belie veth and is baptized shall be 
saved." He has not said that any others can 
be saved. But He has said all that believe 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



103 1 



and are baptized shall be saved. He never 
said that faith would save any one. Yet men 
are running over the country telling the peo- 
ple that if they only have faith, it is all right 
and they will be saved. Do such persons 
know better than the Son of God what will 
save one in eternity? They teach a doctrine 
that is entirely different from what Jesus 
taught. Which is to be believed? The Lord 
of the kingdom has said just what will save, 
or admit one into the kingdom on earth, and 
we propose to believe him. If there had been 
any other way for man to obtain citizenship 
in God's kingdom on earth, Jesus would surely 
have placed it in his Law. He has said what 
we must do to be saved, and that should de- 
cide what we must do, notwithstanding man 
may differ with Jesus. As long as we remain 
in the kingdom we are safe, for the Lord of 
this kingdom is mightier than all that may 
set up against Him, as will be revealed in the 
last day. If we stay in His kingdom, and are 
obedient to His Laws, we are safe, for He has 
conquered death, and is now in the presence 
of his Father to intercede for all who obey 
His commands, and not those who obey the 
commands of any man, or set of men. If you 
will have eternal life, you must do as com- 
manded by his divinely guided apostles. Live 
a life that will prove to your fellow man that 



Si 104 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



you are a true and faithful follower of Jesus 
Christ. There is no other way to obtain 
eternal life. Baptized in the name of Jesus 
Christ. Why baptized in his name? Because 
God gave all things in heaven and on earth 
concerning man into the hands of His Son. 
Why baptized at all? Because Jesus, the 
son of God, and royal Lord of God's kingdom 
was baptized. How was Jesus baptized? 
Does not everything connected with his bap- 
tism by John in the river Jordan, prove to 
every fair-minded and logical thinker that 
John baptized Jesus by immersing him in the 
water of the river Jordan? If this be true, 
and we will remember that Jesus said, " He 
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," 
we have gained one very essential point. 

Let us now consider some of his divinely 
sent agents' teachings. Rom. vi: 4. "There- 
fore, we are buried with him by baptism." 
If by our baptism we are buried with our 
Lord, how are we to be baptized? We are to 
be buried with him. .What does the word 
buried signify to us? A child will tell you 
what it means to be buried. If we are to be 
buried with him, and baptism is the act, and 
Jesus was baptized by John in the river 
Jordan, we can surely understand how we are 
to be baptized. We have the same baptismal 
grave in which Jesus was buried by baptism. 



tj - s 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. JQ5 

in which we can be buried with our Lord. 
"What an honor ! that we can be buried with 
the Lord of God's kingdom on earth, and 
know that he will be pleased with the act, if 
we have fully repented toward God for our 
sins. Baptism, in the abstract, or alone, 
amounts to nothing. To obtain the blessing 
offered, there must first be a repentance, true 
and pure, and this produced by faith in God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, and a desire for 
heaven and eternal life before we are fit sub- 
jects for a burial with our Lord, in baptism. 
Anything else, or any other baptism than a 
burial like the burial of our Lord by John in 
the Jordan, will avail nothing in the sight of 
God. God would not have said He was well 
pleased with His Son immediately after He 
arose from his watery grave, if He intended 
to ever acknowledge any other form of bap- 
tism different from the one His Son was 
buried by. God blessed His Son by His 
holy spirit at the time he was buried by 
baptism, and has promised to all, His holy 
spirit's blessing, that are buried with their 
Lord by baptism, providing faith and repent- 
ance precede their baptism. Paul tells us that 
by the act of our baptism, we are buried with 
Christ, and even so, should we walk in new- 
ness of life. The meaning of life, we ex- 
plained in our lecture on Life and Death. 



ft 



■i 



4 ^=w 

& IQQ THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. J • 

By the act of baptism, and the result accom- 
plished thereby, we are brought into a new 
relation with our Lord, and through him, 
with his Father, and we should so walk or 
live. The new life, or union in which Jesus 
walked with his Father on earth, was made 
manifest to the world immediately after he 
arose from the water. God's holy spirit de- 
scended upon him in a visible form, and God 
spoke in human language, and in an audible 
voice, and said Jesus was His beloved son in 
whom He was well pleased. So will Jesus 
and his Father be well pleased when with a 
pure heart, and unfeigned love for both, we are 
buried with our Lord by baptism, and they 
have promised to such, and only such, the 
gift of the holy spirit. Peter commanded 
baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for re- 
mission of sins, and said that all such should 
receive the gift of the holy spirit. No where 
else in the law of the kingdom is the remis- 
sion of sins, or the gift of the holy spirit 
promised as a reward. All shows to us plainly 
that our baptism is a burial with our loving 
Lord, the honored Son of God for a purpose. 
Paul further says, " Know you not, that as 
many of you as were baptized into Christ 
have put him on?" Gal. iii: 27. Here Paul 
tells us we are to be baptized into Christ. 
We leave all to decide whether they are to be 



tr~§> 



r- 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDIOATOR. ^Q>J 



baptized into, or in the name of Jesus Christ. 
Consider all we have said, and then consider 
what Jesus did^ what he said, and what God 
said, and what the apostles said, the object 
to be attained, and then decide whether you 
are to be baptized in, or into the name of 
Jesus Christ. We are then to be baptized 
into the name of Jesus Christ. Can any of 
the various forms of what is claimed to be 
baptism, avail us anything? Is there any 
other way mentioned in the law of the king- 
dom, or the teachings of the agents of our 
Lord, where we are told how to put Christ 
on? We have in that act, if baptized into 
his name, put him on. We have taken his 
name, and must renounce all other names, 
and submit to be guided by his law, and re- 
nounce all other laws, and he has promised to 
all such, and such only, his Father's blessing 
in this life, and in the end, eternal life at his 
Father's right hand. Jesus Christ died for 
all, for all were dead unto God by the sin 
they committed in heaven, and Jesus, by his 
death took that sin away, and reconciled all 
back to God again. 

God did not die, nor did the holy spirit 
die, but Jesus Christ did die and God raised 
him from the dead, for His seed remained in 
His Son, and He would not allow His holy 
one to see corruption. Everything is in the 



V=tF 



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el i 



108 THE BIB LE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

name of Jesus Christ, and therefore did Peter 
command us to be baptized in the name of 
Jesus Christ for remission of sins, and prom- 
ised that God would be so well pleased with 
us, that His holy spirit would bless us. What- 
ever these apostles, or agents of the Lord 
Jesus Christ did, was to be done in the name 
of, or by the authority of Father, Son and 
holy spirit. The holy spirit is the sustainer 
and helper of all the citizens of God's king- 
dom on earth. He came to our Savior as 
soon as he arose from the water of baptism. 
He guided the apostles in giving the law, 
and it is no where promised in the law that 
the holy spirit will bless any but the subjects 
of God's kingdom on earth. So illogical and 
unscriptural are the laws and creeds gotten 
up by the churches for the worship of God, 
that the most logical thinkers on all other 
subjects, are mystified when they try to find 
out by them, what God requires of them as a 
worshiper, and have become disgusted with 
all, and the bible too, and have taken a bold 
stand against all. Whereas, if such persons 
would only have consigned all such bundles 
of foolishness to the flames, as they should 
have done, and taken the bible and given it 
an equal amount of study, they would now 
have been brave and wise supporters of the 
only true law of heaven to the world. The 



t 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. JQ9 

longer time goes on, the greater will be the 
number of these human forms, creeds and laws, 
and the greater will be the number led to 
eternal death. The Master says, if we love 
Him, we will keep His commandments. 

My hearers, if you wish to know what God 
has done for the world, and what He requires 
of the world, and know of the blessings in store 
for all who love Him, and obey His Laws, and 
realize how Jesus loves you, lay aside all 
human made creeds, laws and ordinances, and 
take the law given by our Lord, and study it 
and put more confidence in God and Jesus 
Christ, and less in the wisdom and guidance 
of poor fallible man. How we are all trifling 
with God and our Savior to the ruin of our 
spirit's eternal interests. Believe not what we 
have said, cnly in so far as the bible sustains 
what we have said. We fully realize, " That 
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation 
to all who believe it," and we beseech you to 
believe it, and study it for yourselves. But, 
think not, that we are too severe upon all 
human made laws, creeds, ordinances and laws 
for the worship of God, but read what Paul 
says about them in his letter to the Col., ii: 
20, 21, 22, 23. 

Let the ordinances, forms, and law of the 
Lord of the kingdom of God on earth guide 
you in your worship of God and His Son, 



el 1 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



*f 



and be true and faithful to them, and you 
can be certain that you are right, and if you 
so continue till death, internal Life will he 
your reward. 




t 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



Ill 



LIFE AND DEATH, ETERNAL LIFE AND 
ETERNAL DEATH. 



We now approach a subject that is of vital 
interest to all, based upon its momentous im- 
portance, and final issue. The bible, which is 
but a record of God's laws, and dealings with 
man ever since He first gave a law to the 
world, or any portion of it, is but very poorly 
understood by the greater majority of man- 
kind. Instead of endeavoring to develop, and 
bring out the stern facts taught by the bible, 
in order that man may be properly guided in 
the matter of eternal life, the mass of mankind 
and among them, too, many of the would be 
teachers of the doctrine of this book, are 
endeavoring to cover up these laws of God, 
with all the great and weighty, but plain 
teaching, with the cloak of mystery, manu- 
factured by themselves, and for their own 
purposes. Is this right? 

Ever since death of the body was entailed 
on the human race through Adam's sin in the 



£ 



H2 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

Garden of Eden, all of God's dealings with 
man, through His law to man, has had but 
one supreme object in view: Eternal Life. It 
is written upon every page of divine writ. 
It is stamped upon every divine law. Yet, 
we are told by theologians that it is a mys- 
tical subject, and can not be understood only 
as God reveals it to us, from time to time. 
It was, that man might obtain eternal life,* the 
great object God had in view when He sent 
His Son to redeem the world from a sin that 
separated them from Him, and consigned them 
to eternal death, that God has caused to be 
put on record what He has, that man might 
understand his duty, and intelligently perform 
it. Jesus removed, or atoned for the sin that 
separated the world from God to the perfect 
and full satisfaction of his Father, as we have 
shown clearly in our lecture on the word, 
World, and made it possible for all to obtain 
Eternal Life and escape Eternal Death. 

We ask all to follow us closely, and note 
carefully all we say on this important subject. 
This subject has been handled by learned 
theologians, as well as writers of all countries 
and nations. Every form and character of 
religion has its peculiar views upon this all 
important subject. Yet, no two agree. To 
this cause, more than any other, we may trace 
the prevailing, and very popular opinion, that 



ft 






XJTe)i 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. j^3 

it is all a mystery, and can not be understood 
by any man. "What an insult to the all-wise 
God of heaven and earth, to say that He is a 
God of subterfuge. That He requires of His 
creatures an obedience to a law that He has 
purposely clothed in mystery, that angels can 
not fathom or comprehend, and yet hold His 
creatures responsible for not obeying all His 
commands. Nearly, or quite all, in order to 
suit their peculiar form of worship, make a 
very mystical subject of it. In this, as in every 
thing else God has done or required of man, He 
has made it plain to all who will study it from 
God's exposition of it, and put more faith and 
confidence in Him, and less in poor, fallible 
man. 

The only thing that has caused God's deal- 
ings with His creature man to be looked upon 
as mystical by man. has grown out of the wis- 
dom of man being brought into opposition and 
direct contradiction of God's wisdom, as plainly 
revealed to us through what he has caused to 
be put on record for, our good, and correct 
guidance. The great difficulty to a correct 
understanding of God and His Laws to the 
children of Israel, through Moses, and to the 
world through His Son, is, that men have at- 
tempted, through their own wisdom, to explain 
to the world this great subject from their 
own standpoint, based upon human wisdom 

■& 



f 



1 J4 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICA10R. 

alone, just in the same way they have been 
introducing their own laws for the worshiping 
of God, to the almost ignoring of God's Laws. 
In fact, much learning has caused many men 
to forget the simple and plain manner of 
God's dealings with His creatures. There are 
a great many men who do not know anything 
about the bible; men who never have given it 
a particle of study, that seem to think it 
manly, and vainly flatter themselves that it 
shows wisdom to speak contemptuously of 
the bible, and sluringly about the divinity of 
Christ. From what plant has such impressions 
and vanities grown, except from this meddle- 
some human wisdom plant? Men have, and 
are still endeavoring to make stoicism of far 
more value to the world than the simple, plain 
law Jesus gave for our guidance in our work 
of obtaining Eternal Life. This Law of 
Eternal Life appears to be too simple to suit 
many. Therefore, they try to make us believe 
it is a very mystical affair, and cannot be 
comprehended by any, one, except it is one 
called of God for the express purpose of ex- 
plaining what is meant by the law. Thus 
charging God with unfair dealings with His 
creatures. We propose to try and make this 
subject plain to all. We shall use the law 
given by our Savior to the world for all our 
explanations. 



fe 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. j[J5 1® 

What is man any how? What do we know 
about man, except as we find it in God's re- 
corded dealings with man? To this record 
we propose to go, and by it, and from it, 
explain the meaning of Life and Death, 
Eternal Life and Eternal Death. 

In the beginning of man on earth, God, in 
council with His Christ, who afterwards became 
the redeemer of the entire world from a sin 
they had committed, and God's only beloved 
and acknowledged son, created a man, after 
they had finished their creation of all the 
lower orders of creation. Seeing, that to 
propagate these human bodies it was necessary 
to create a female, as they had done in all 
the lower orders, they created for Adam a 
companion in an entirely different way from 
what they had created the female bodies in 
the lower orders of creation. The history of 
this transaction you are all familiar with, that 
are familiar with the bible. When man was 
created God made the man, or bodily form 
out of earth. I As we have shown in a former 
lecture He created this bodily form of man 
for altogether a different purpose than that of 
every other part of His creation. The body 
or man was for the habitation of a spirit, for 
the glory of God, and the eternal happiness 
of such spirits. "What is man, that thou 
should'st be mindful of him ? " Job, vii : IT 

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<v\ \IQ THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and 18. Why should God be mindful of the 
earthly home of the spirit? Is it the spirit 
that lives in man, or the earthly house that 
God has done all for? It was for the spirit 
that Jesus died. God created the man, the 
earthly form, for the home of a spirit here on 
earth for a purpose. Like the prodigal, the 
spirits were separated from their Father's 
home, and before they can again be admitted 
into the Father's home, they, like the prodigal, 
must have on a clean new robe. The "new 
body " will be that robe. 

In a former lecture, we showed you what 
these spirits were, and where they come from ? 
and why it was that God formulated His 
great plan of salvation. But, what was this 
man, or bodily form, the old robe, alone, and 
by itself? Let us see what the apostle James 
says about it, ii: 26. "For as the body, 
without the spirit is dead, so faith without 
works is dead also." From this we gather 
our first definition of death. . From what the 
apostle James says, we learn that Adam was 
dead, as long as his body was alone, or until 
God caused the breath of life to enter Adam's 
nostrils: the natural passage for the breath to 
enter the lungs. The breath, coming and going 
is the evidence that there is life in the body. 
After which, Adam became a living soul. It 
was at this time that God completed His 



i 



JJ 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. \\<J 

great work of creating a man, and for the 
completion of His work, He pieced a spirit in 
Adam's body. When God had completed the 
creation of the form, or body, it was lifeless. 
Dead. But as God created the body for the 
habitation of a spirit, He placed one out of 
the third part in Adam's body. As soon as 
the spirit entered the body of Adam, it caused 
natural law to go to work, and the body by 
the union of the spirit, was perfect, and it 
became a living, moving compound. An 
active, breathing body; because there was a 
spirit in it, and the life-breath visible. There 
was formed a union of the body with a spirit. 
We would say that Adam was alive, because 
we see the attributes of a living body. We 
find by St. Luke's record, viii: 50, that when 
the ruler of Israel was informed that his little 
daughter was dead, Jesus told him not to fear, 
his daughter should be made whole again. 
From this we learn that the life of the child 
having departed, caused a destruction of the 
child, or human form, by natural law. None 
knew this better than Jesus, and none felt it 
more keenly than the father of the child. In 
the 55th verse Luke tells us the child's spirit 
came again ; thus signifying that the spirit had 
come at some other past time, and it was the 
life, or by its union with the body gave the 
body natural life. We say natural life, for 



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;Qg THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

that was the one great object God had in view 
when He created the body, or form of man. 
Jesus having the power and authority to com- 
mand the spirit at all times, commanded it in 
this case to return and re-enter the body. 
When the spirit had gone back into the child's 
body, and nature is once more restored, we 
are told that Jesus commanded those in the 
room to give the child food. We will leave 
this where it is for the present, as we may 
have use for it further on. In Matthew, x: 
28, we hear Jesus admonishing those around 
him not to fear those who could kill the body, 
but can do no more. We will explain further 
on what it means to kill the body. 

The apostle James says, the body alone, or 
without a spirit in it, is dead. We hear 
Jesus saying, Luke, ix: 55, to his apostles, 
that they did not know what manner of 
spirits they were of. We will have use for 
this further on. If, in the case of Adam, his 
body was as James says, dead, without a 
spirit, and if we acknowledge that Jesus had 
powder to call back a spirit that had gone out 
of a body, and cause it to re-enter the body, 
we must acknowledge that God had power to 
cause a spirit to enter the body of Adam, af- 
ter He had fitted the body for a spirit. We 
see in these two transactions, that the body 
without the spirit in it, is dead; and with a 



ft 



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f^ — -f 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. UQ 

spirit in it, it is alive. We will now see if 
we can discover what the word Life means. 
First. If the body without a spirit in it is 
dead, or lifeless would be a better expression, 
and, secondly, a live, moving, vitalized body 
when a spirit is in it, we have the true mean- 
ing of Dtath and Life. Death then, means 
the separation of the spirit and body. When 
this separation of spirit and body takes place, 
the body is left lifeless, useless, dead. This 
teaches us that death means separation. The 
word life means a union of the spirit and 
body. Life, then, means union. 

The body being earthly from its origin, 
naturally returns back to earth again, as soon 
as the spirit separates from it. The spirit 
not being earthly, but heavenly, is not per- 
ishable like the body, but like the body it 
returns to its natural place again as soon as 
it leaves the body. It goes back into the 
care of God in eternity, and will await His 
future dealings with it, according to its merits 
or demerits, based upon the law He gave for 
its guidance, by His Son. We thus learn that 
life here means union; and death, separation. 

As regards the spirits, we explained that 
in our lecture on the word, World. We have 
a little more, however, to say about them in 
this connection. When Jesus told his apostles 
they did not know what manner, or class of 



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120 



THIS BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



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spirits they were of, he gave ns to infer that 
the spirits in their bodies were of a certain 
class. By the manner, and character of his 
rebuke, we can believe that the spirits in 
their bodies were of no higher origin, or better 
class than the spirits that inhabit our bodies. 
When God told Adam, the one he created cut of 
the dust of the earth, in the Garden of Eden, that 
in the day he ate of the fruit of a certain tree 
he should die, He meant just what He said, 
and most surely He enforced it. In the eve- 
ning God would come down to the garden, 
and talk with his friend and creature man. 
Surely Adam and Eve must have been su- 
premely happy. They were in the visible 
presence of God, and conversed with Him as 
a friend converses with a friend he loves. But, 
Adam and Eve ate of the fruit God told them 
not to eat of, and in the evening when God 
came to pay them His usual visit, He discov- 
ered that His friends and creatures had been 
disobedient, and put to defiance His warning. 
God had told Adam, that in the day he ate 
of the fruit he should surely die. Let us see 
if God made good his word to Adam. 

We have already learned that the literal 
meaning of the word death means separation. 
God loved His creatures, and had pity on 
them, and made garments for them, with 
which to cover their naked bodies, before He 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. ^21 

caused them to die according to the meaning" 
of the word. Although it was in the evening, 
and the darkness of night was coming on, 
God separated them from Him that day, and 
drove them out r of the garden, and forbade 
them again to re-enter it. He no longer 
kept them with Him in the garden, and in 
union with Him, but He separated them from 
Him, drove them out of the garden and away 
from Him. In this separation, Adam and Eve 
died unto God, and all the happiness He had 
blessed them with while they had a bodily 
relation, or union with Ilim. The etomolog- 
ical meaning of the word death, according to 
Webster's definition of it, is separation; 
alienation of the spirit from God. A being 
under the dominion of sin, and destitute of 
divine life, or, we add, a separation from 
God. This was Adam's case. He was sep- 
arated from a bodily union with God. "We 
have shown you, and we trust, clearly, the 
word death, means separation. Adam and 
Eve died the same day they ate of the fruit, 
for God separated them from Him the same 
day they ate of the fruit. God promised 
Adam, that the seed of the woman should 
bruise the serpent's head. He promised His 
Son to the world as its redeemer. The apos- 
tle tells us, God was in His Son, reconciling. 
the world unto Himself. This alienation of 



dfci -^=& 

® 222 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

man from God continued until God sent His 
Son to visit man, as He visited him in the 
garden. Jesus came to earth, the represent- 
ative of his Father. God sent His Son here 
to accomplish a certain work for Him, and 
remove a sin, that caused God to create man, 
and place a spirit in his body. God had 
placed Adam and Eve in the garden, and 
commanded them to multiply and replenish 
the earth, for a purpose. We are told that 
God had intended better things for man, but 
when Adam sinned, and defiled the pure body 
He gave him in the garden, He could not 
allow His creature, man, to remain in a live 
state, or union with Him any longer. So He 
changed His plans in regard to man, and 
drove them out of His garden. If life here 
means a union, and death, separation, then 
Adam and Eve died, for God separated them 
from Him, drove them away from Him, and 
made them toil for their living. "We trust 
that you now understand that Adam did really 
die the same day he ate of the fruit. That 
you see clearly, that when God separated 
them from Him, they did die unto all the 
blissful, happy relations they had with Him, 
that very day. We never hear that God 
placed them back in the garden again. The 
balance of their days were marked with sor- 
row and care. They were dead unto God 



f 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. ^23 1 



and all the happy life they had led with Him 
in the garden. 

If life here on this earth means a union of 
spirit and body, and death means a separa- 
tion, what does Eternal Life and Eternal 
Death mean? Let us now examine them, and 
see if we can gain a clearer knowledge of 
them, and remove the mystery that human 
theological knowledge has cast over them, in 
order to the more thoroughly bolster up a 
false line of reasoning, and sustain # human 
creeds. Let us see if an intelligent under- 
standing of what they mean, will not cause us 
to love God more, and try to serve Him bet- 
ter. The reward to the faithful follower and 
obedient disciple of Jesus Christ, is, in the end, 
Eternal Life. To the wicked and disobedi- 
ent, Eternal Death. 

We will now examine these terms in the 
light of tne sacred scriptures. God has told 
us by the mouth of His prophet, Isaiah, lxv: 
17, " that He would create new heavens and a 
new earth, and that old ones should never more 
be remembered." The old ones shall pass 
away, and God will create new heavens and 
a new earth, for the final home of the right- 
eous, and they will never remember what 
transpired on this old earth. The old ones 
are to pass away and are never more to he 
remembered. 



i 



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|24 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

Paul tells us, Cor. xv : 44 : " It is sown a 
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 
There are natural bodies, and there are spirit- 
ual bodies." The natural body is one brought 
into existence by natural law that was cs- 
lished and put to work when God fashioned 
the bodies of Adam and Eve, and caused 
them to breathe, and commanded them to mul- 
tiply, as we have shown in our lecture on 
the " Divinity of Christ by Natural Law." 
A spiritual body is one that has its origin 
from the same place that spirits come from, 
and is governed by the same law governing 
spirits. Spirits are created in eternity, and 
are not born, or brought into existence on 
earth, like our natural bodies are. The nat- 
ural body is perishable, and must rot, and lose 
its form, and go back to its natural elements 
again. The spiritual body is eternal, because 
it is created in eternity, and is as durable and 
imperishable as the Eternal Law that gives it 
existence. Its place is in eternity. The nat- 
ural bodies' place is on earth, and must go as 
the old earth will go when God has completed 
His work here. The meaning of eternal is, 
unending, never to cease to be. Spirits are not 
created in time, nor on this earth, but in eternity. 
Therefore, anything created in eternity will be 
spiritual; that is, never-ending, never to cease 
to be. As it is necessary for a certain class of 



t 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. J25 [ & 



spirits to have natural bodies to live in here on 
earth, in order to worship God, if they desire 
to, in accordance with His great plan of salva- 
tion, it is just as necessary for the righteous to 
have be die 5 in eternity, in order to enjoy the 
bodily presence of God and Jesus Christ in the 
New Jerusalem, on the new or spiritual earth. 
For such is God's unalterable and revealed 
plan. All who are obedient and faithful here 
on earth, while they inhabit natural bodies, 
and are entitled to Eternal Life, are required to 
have on the clean, pure robe, or wedding gar- 
ment, or spiritual body, in order to be pre- 
sented to God by His Son, when the time comes 
that Jesus will take the faithful to his Father, 
and say, "Father, here are those who have 
washed their robes, and made them white in 
my blood." 

When our spirits pass out of these bodies 
here in time, it will all depend upon our con- 
duct while here in these temporal or natural 
bodies, whether our spirits will be permitted, 
in the final end, to enter a new spiritual or 
eternal body, or not. Nothing impure, or de- 
filed, or sinful, can ever enter the new body, 
or the New Jerusalem, or have a home on the 
new or eternal earth. Therefore, that all may 
be eternally happy if they choose, God has 
given us a law by His Son, which, if properly 
obeyed here on this earth, while our spirits are 

4» S 



® 126 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

in these earthly bodies, governed by natural 
law, will guarantee to all such a new spiritual 
or eternal body, on the new or spiritual earth. 
These new bodies will be created out of the 
new spiritual earth. None others can be there. 
If we have been obedient to what Jesus has 
required of us here, and not disobodient, like 
Adam was in the garden, by placing more con- 
fidence in what some one else has said than 
in what Jesus has said, Jesus will give us one 
of those new bodies, to be created out of the 
new earth, and our spirits will be permitted to 
enter it in eternity, and on the new earth, as 
our spirits did these natural bodies. Jesus 
has said. "In my Father's house are many 
mansions; if it were not so I would have told 
you. I go to prepare a place for you, that 
w r here I am, there you may be also." 

John, the Revelator, tells us God and Jesus 
Christ will be in that beautiful new Jerusalem, 
that is to come down out of heaven upon the 
new or spiritual earth. As the union of the 
spirit with these natural bodies, give them nat- 
ural life, so will the union of the righteous spirit 
with the new, or spiritual body, give it spirit- 
ual, or eternal life. Our spirits being eternal 
by their creation, and the new bodies being 
spiritual, or eternal by their creation, the union 
will be eternal. Then will Jesus take all such 
to His Father, and our union with God and 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 227 



ft 



His Son will be eternal. Thus constituting to 
the righteous, eternal life. Is this not worth 
deep, hard study and prayer, in order to know 
that we are worshiping God through the law 
and form of worship given us by His Son ? If 
we study our business or the laws of worshiping 
God gotten up by man, more than w T e do His 
Law, we are not worthy of Him. 

Death as we have shown, is separation. Sep- 
aration of an eternal spirit from this natural, 
perishable body by natural law, while here on 
this earth, constitutes natural death. The body 
goes back to earth, and the spirit back to eter- 
nity. When the final or great day shall come, 
and God has created the new earth, then will all 
who have lived a life of disobedience and sin 
here; all who are not worthy of a home with 
Jesus Christ, but have lived a life of disobedi- 
ence like Adam and Eve did for one short day 
in the garden (a day with the Lord is as a 
thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
day when it is passed) will not be permitted to 
enter one of the new bodies; nor, can such a 
spirit enter into the loving home of God for 
lack of it. Eternal association with God and 
Jesus Christ is thus lost. Hence, such spirits 
have no eternal life; but must wander like wan- 
dering stars, without any fixed home. Wander 
in the cold, cheerless, damp, loathsome, outer 
darkness, hated by all, hating all, associated 

¥=* "FP 



if- ^1 

<»1 128 THE BIBLE ITS. OWN VINDICATOR. 

with the damned, with all that is bad and most 
to be despised. Yet, seeing into the New 
Jerusalem like Dives of old, from their dark 
and dismal wanderings, and behold what great 
reward to the righteous and faithful they wan- 
tonly threw away while opportunity was offered 
them, and realize that there is no hope for them; 
their days of grace are ended; time is abolished 
and eternity has begun with them. Yet in all 
their forlorn, and fixed misery, from which 
there is no escape, they must say God is just, 
and has given them their just deserts, by con- 
signing them to eternal death. Eternal separa- 
tion from Him and the happy ones through the 
endless ages of eternity. He has given them, 
and will give to all, just what they work for, 
and love most in this natural life. The fruits 
of all their disobedience has brought them at 
last Eternal Death. If we will have eternal 
union with God, and our beloved Savior, when 
the final day comes, we must prepare for it here 
on earth, while our spirits inhabit these nat- 
ural bodies in time, by a faithful, loving and 
intelligent obedience to God and His Son, 
through the law Jesus has so graciously given 
us for our correct guidance, and be not con- 
formed to this world, by attempting to worship 
God through the instrumentality of human- 
made forms, and, useless ceremonies. Because, 
if from a lack on our part to correctly study 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. J29 

God's Laws, or a proneness on our part we suf- 
fer ourselves to come to the end of our lives 
here, under the guidance of some one else, we 
will lose all, and be consigned to eternal sepa- 
ration from God. His Law must be our law, 
without any additions, or alterations by man. 
The eternal life offered the world by Jesus 
Christ is so easy to be obtained, if we w^ill but 
let God be God with us, and be certain that we 
are worshiping Him through His own Law, and 
appointed form of worship. Life here on earth, 
as we have shown, means union. Union of a 
spirit with a body of man. This is natural life. 
Death here on earth means, separation. Sepa- 
ration of the spirit from the body. This is 
natural death. 

Eternal life, means union of the spirit with 
an eternal, or spiritual body, and a bodily union 
with God and our Savior in the New Jerusalem, 
on the spiritual, or eternal earth. Eternal 
death, means an eternal separation of the spirit 
from the spiritual, or eternal body, and an 
eternal separation of the spirit from God and 
our Savior in the New Jerusalem, on the spirit- 
ual, or eternal earth. 

Which will you choose ? You must make 
choice of one or the other while you are here 
on this temporal earth. God loves you, and 
Jesus Christ loves you, but they love you too 
well to force you to make choice of either. 



L» 



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13Q TOE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

It is all left with you. Decide which you will 
choose, life or death in eternity. God has set 
good and evil before you, and asks you which 
you will choose. He has explained to us the 
rewards of both, so that if you make a mistake 
that in the end consigns you to eternal death, 
the fault will all be your own. God will not 
acknowledge any worship but a correct one; 
nor will He accept sacrifice, or service, except 
willing ones. Our worship of Him will avail 
us nothing, unless it is rendered strictly in ac- 
cordance with the law and form He has given 
through His Son, the savior of the world. In 
the days of Israel, when they deviated in the 
least from the form He gave them, He inter- 
fered, and they were brought back to the cor- 
rect form again; but God will not again inter- 
fere with any form of worship, even if it is 
ever so much in opposition to His revealed 
will to the world. But, when the final end 
comes, and He has assembled the entire world 
before Him, He will, by His Son, judge the 
nation by the laws given to the world, and 
not by any law, or form, or creed gotten by 
man. Be sure that your worship of God is 
exactly in conformity with the law by which 
you are to be judged in the last great day. 
If we lose eternal life, it will be because we 
have not done our duty, and the fault will all 
be ours, and we must be the losers, and the 



fl 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICA10R. ^3^ 

ones to be blamed, and not God, or His Son. 
If life here on earth, in its most pleasant form, 
is to be desired, and if, in order to obtain it 
and enjoy it, it requires us to deny ourselves 
present comforts, we will not hesitate, but, 
with a hope of enjoying a life of comfort and 
happiness for a little while, we take hold of 
the duties and labors necessary to its attain- 
ment, fully realizing that the enjoyment at its 
best, is only for a few days, or years, how much 
more willingly should we take hold of the du- 
ties and obligations imposed by God for the 
enjoyment of that blissful Eternal Life, offered 
to all who will accept it, and listen to Him, 
and do the pleasant work He requires, to the 
attainment of that life that shall endure through 
the endless ages of eternity, and whose joy 
shall never cease? God has given us a de- 
scription of the new Jerusalem that is to come 
down out of heaven upon the new or spiritual 
earth, that He has promised to create for the 
final home of those who are obedient to Him, 
and worship Him according to the law given 
by His Son. That new Jerusalem is to be 
the home of the righteous, into which and 
out of which they are to go and come and 
find green pastures, or fresh joys everywhere. 
The grandeur and beauties of that new 
Jerusalem has been described so as to awaken 
an interest in our hearts, and stimulate us to 



% 



132 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

greater efforts, and a more spiritual worship 
of God in order that it may be our home at 
last. 

"We mean by the faithful, those who are 
from the heart lovers of God, and their 
Savior, and ignore all human made laws, 
creeds, or rules, as their guide in their wor- 
ship of God, and will study the law of the 
Lord, and obey from a loving heart, every 
command, and perform every obligation im- 
posed therein. Such, and only such, are cer- 
tain of Eternal Life. 

Man is ambitious, and loves applause, and 
loves to be called a leader of his fellow man. 
Such ambition has frequently become dis- 
honorable. Many are attempting to lead 
others by a law formulated by themselves for 
the worship of God, and by being promul- 
gated to the public, have found many adher- 
ents, who are ignorantly worshiping God 
after the manner of men, but not according 
to God's laws, or commands. Such persons, 
often possess great wealth, and through that, 
influence, but they know nothing at all 
about what Ged has commanded in His Law, 
for they never read the law of God for 
themselves. Such men are worshiping God 
through mere empty form, and human made 
ceremonies. If Jesus should come on earth 
to-day, and knowing the multitudinous forms 



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3 
THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. J 33 J ^ 



by which so many are being led, would 
he not say, my law, through which only 
can Eternal Life be obtained, has been muti- 
lated by man for his own glory, and many 
are being led blindly to Eternal Death? 

We plead for God's Law to the world 
through His Son, to the destruction of human 
forms, creeds, and empty ceremonies, and for 
a deeper study of God's Law by all, for it 
only can show us how to obtain Eternal 
Life. Yet, too many are willing to be led by 
man, because it just suits their fancy, and 
grants them so much more liberty than the 
law given to the world by Jesus Christ. 
Stop! oh, man, for one short moment, and 
reflect. God will not be mocked by His 
creature, man, and not punish him in the end. 
We must all stand in that last great ,day, 
and render our accouut to Him, for how we 
have lived here on this earth. Ignorance, 
nor being misled, will avail us nothing there. 
Jesus has said, the way he has established to 
Eternal Life is so plain and simple that a 
man with a weak mind need not err in the 
way. It does not require the great towering, 
scholastic learning of men to comprehend 
what Jesus has required of us in his law. 
All can understand it, from the least to the 
greatest. It is the law given by the divinely 
inspired and led agents, or apostles of Jesus 

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J34 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICAIOR. 



Christ, that is to be the rule by which we 
will be judged in the last day. Be careful 
and do not let your faith and worship of God 
be guided by any law but the Law of 
Eternal Life. Study it for yourselves, for it 
is you that must stand before God in the 
great day, and not your church. Be not 
deceived. Secure Eternal Life while you can, 
and upon the easy, simple terms of the gos- 
pel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



135 3 



Hebrews, X: 25. Who Is Right? 



Yes, who is right ? This interrogative 
suggests that some mistake exists somewhere, 
or in something. Well, if we carefully ex- 
amine our lives, we will find they are com- 
posed of more mistakes than accuracies. 

On account of the multiplicity of human 
made doctrines of faith, rules of faith, and 
laws that are to govern the religious faith of 
the various denominations, God, is a God of 
confusion, if all these are right. The manner 
in which this subject has been taught by the 
orthodox rules of religion, has led us to 
choose the heading we have. This question 
must be settled, like all the others we have 
been talking upon, by the simple, plain teach- 
ings of the Law, that gave birth to the 
subject. We leave all free to accept, or 
reject our explanation, as their better judg- 
ment shall decide, and say, who is right. 

It is the duty of all, to correct their mis- 
takes whenever they are made plain to them, 



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1%Q THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 

and in this way, try to get hold of the truth j 
on all subjects. If by some kind providence 
our mistakes are pointed out to us, it is evi- 
dently our duty to abjure our errors, and at ; 
once accept the evidence, and try to make 
the greater progress in the right. Unfortun- 
ately, however, for all of us, we will, too often, I 
cling to the wron^, from our old, and pos- 
sibly long association with it, rather than ' 
forsake it for the right, even when the rights 
is made plain to us. To stop long enough 
for serious thought and investigation, seems 
to be a thing out of rule in this fast age of 
ours. Too many seem to be willing to drift 
along on the surface, and allow themselves to 
be guided by some one else. Too many 
desire to be led, rather than take time to 
think a little for themselves. Especially is 
this the case, where the subject is one in 
which the simple teachings of the bible 'is 
concerned. What has led mankind to do 
this? God has said, that under the reign of 
the Law of His Son, none shall say to an- 
other, know you the Lord? For all shall 
know him, from the least, to the greatest. 
He does not say, ye shall know of him, but 
that ye shall know him? How many at this 
day, will tell you that they know the Law 
of the Lord Jesus Christ? If they do not, 
who is to blame for it, and who will be held 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICAIOR. 



137 



accountable in the final day of reconing, 
when the whole world shall be gathered be- 
fore the Lord for final judgment? 

There are a great many who think a great 
deal, but they have started from a wrong 
basis, and are therefore wandering in the 
misty field of doubt and uncertainty. Such 
persons are always saying, they hope they 
are right. They can never give a reason for 
the hope that is in them. Because some one, 
in whom they have had confidence, has as- 
serted a thing to be true, all — loo often — 
accept such as a truth, and go right along, 
never stopping long enough to ask themselves 
the question, is it right, or is it wrong? 
Such persons are led into this field of mystery 
and doubt, by studying human made laws 
for worshiping God, and trying to bend {he 
Law of the Lord into a shape to fit such 
laws. This negligence, and carelessness, in 
the study of God's Law, has led many to fully 
believe a wrong to be a right, through a long 
lifetime, and have gone to their graves, thus 
deluded. What will be the finality with such 
persons in the great day of reconing, we are 
not at liberty to say. One thing we do know, 
and that is, there was a time, when God 
winked at ignorance. But it is not so now, 
for He has commanded men everywhere to 
repent, and holds us responsible for all our 



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« 13S THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. *' 

errors. His Law is plain and simple, and He 
is not responsible for our having gone astray 
after strange laws. 

There is nothing we know of in which mis- 
takes are so easily, and so often made, and 
when once made, so lovingly, and tenaciously 
clung to, as the mistakes concerning the 
Bible. There, now, we have done it. "We 
said mistakes concerning the Bible. Well, 
do not be alarmed, we are not one of Bob 
IngersolPs disciples. We know the slippery 
places on which he stands, and many others 
as well as him. Read what is said, and then ask, 
who is right ? The subject we refer to, is one 
made use of by Paul in his letter to the 
Hebrews, x: 25. "Not forsaking the assemb- 
ling of yourselves together, as the manner of 
some is, but exhorting one another, and so 
much the more, as ye see the day approach- 
ing." This, like many other passages in the 
bible, is wrested from the meaning Paul in- 
tended it to have. By the wrong constru- 
ing of this passage, many have, and are 
now putting off too much for a future day, 
and their love for the Master, and His work, 
is growing cold in their hearts; whereas, Paul 
intended to keep the fire of love glowing upon 
the altar of their hearts. We have all heard 
this passage referred to, by those we looked 
up to as teachers of sacred subjects, and we 

aw S 



« 1 THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. IgQ © 

venture the assertion, that not one in a thou- 
sand ever heard this passage referred to in 
any other way, than as referring to death, 
or judgment. Than which, nothing is farther 
from the true meaning of the apostle's teach- 
ing. Such an explanation, makes death and 
judgment synonims. Such doctrine, is mis- 
chievous, and is calculated to lead others into 
a wrong understanding of the teachings of 
the bible. The truth of it is, Paul is not 
talking of death, nor, judgment. He is teach- 
ing a living principle, to a living people. 
He forsees, apparently, this our present day 
and doings, and he is trying to forestall them 
by a living, divine life in the church. Paul 
knew, as long as this divine life, the which 
he is trying to foster, and nourish into an 
active, living, divine life in the church, is 
kept alive in the church, will the Great 
Master's cause flourish. How is it to-day ? 
How much divine, or spiritual life, is there 
in the church, aside from a purely mone- 
tary basis? How many of us can lay our 
hand upon our heart, and say, I, by my 
faith and works, know I am doing just as he 
requires me to do, and if he should call me 
into his presence to-day, I can go, fearing 
nothing? How many of our lives are so 
orderly in the Master's service? How many 
of us can say, I know the Lord? If you 



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140 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



know a friend, you understand him, and are 
therefore enabled to always remain friends. 
If our lives are not orderly in the Master's 
service, what has caused them to be other- 
wise? Certainly, if we all lived up to the 
standard Paul sets up for us, in the passage 
we have chosen, the Master's work would be 
more flourishing. Let us now see what Paul 
teaches in Heb. x: 25. How ifmch death, or 
judgment, does he refer to? He is talking to 
the church. He is admonishing them to as- 
semble. Full well, Paul knew what caused 
the children of Israel to fall away from the 
correct worship of the true, and living God. 
He knew the power for life and good, gener- 
ated by assembling for a specific purpose. 
Therefore, this passage assumes the nature of 
a command. In order to assemble, it is nec- 
essary to have a place, at which to assemble, 
and a designated day, for assembling. Paul 
is talking to the Hebrews, upon the necessity 
of assembling, and not upon the subject of 
death, nor judgment. Paul, having been 
thoroughly trained in the Jewish worship, 
knows what is best for this occasion. There- 
fore, he imposes a duty on every member of 
the assembly, or church, namely, that of ex- 
horting one another, daily. ISTot crossing the 
street, to avoid coming in contact with a 
brother, for fear he mav wish to say some- 

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! 1 1 

THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. \^ ® 



thing to us about the Master's work. Know- 
ing the good effect of such exhortations, when 
practiced by every member of the assembly, 
he requires that our exhortations shall be the 
more frequent, and urgent, as we see the day 
approaching. In this, what day, does Paul refer- 
to? Manifestly, the day which the assembly, 
or church has chosen, and set apart, for that 
purpose. 

All christian denominations have chosen 
the Lord's day, the first day of the week. 
How is it with us to-day? Do we exhort 
our brethren to be present on that day? Do 
we do it daily? Do we do it the more so, 
as, at the close of every twenty-four hours, 
we see the assembly day drawing nearer, and 
realize the great good we can accomplish for 
the Lord? Paul wishes us to fully realize, 
that we are in the employment of the Master, 
and that our love for him, should prompt us 
to more earnest, persevering work. If we all 
did, as the apostle has told us to do, do you 
not think we would see the fruits of our work, 
in the holy growth of brotherly love, sym- 
pathy, and regard for each other? Would 
this not lead us to give more of our time to 
a correct study of the Master's Law, in order 
to know just what He requires us to do, in 
order that He may bless us, and give us of 
the good things, He has promised the true, 

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142 



THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. 



and faithful, in this life? Would it not lead 
all, who love the Lord, to a higher, nobler, 
and more spiritual life? If we w^ere all only 
fully up to the standard Paul sets up for us, 
would there be a vacant seat in the assembly 
room, when the assembly comes together, with- 
out causing a heartfelt anxiety, stirring the 
heart of every member present, to know why 
such a brother, or sister is not present ? 

Every one would say, Brother , came to see 

me, and me, and me, yes all, and he, or she 
was so anxious for all to be here. The uni- 
versal verdict would be, he must be sick, for 
nothing but sickness, or death, could prevent 
him from being present. As soon as the 
assembly breaks up, every one is ready to go 

to see Brother . If he, or his are sick, 

oh! how many willing hands, praying hearts, 
and open pocket books, (if need require it,) 
there are to help a brother bare his burdens. 
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill 
the Law of the Lord," is the command of our 
Master. If this happy state of affairs did 
only exist in the body of Christ's true fol- 
lowers, (and if it does not, dare we claim that 
we are his) then would all standing outside, 
and away from the Lord, say, see how these 
brethren love one another. Our Great Master 
has said, "The world may know that ye are 
mine, if ye love one another." 



F0ES7 



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THE BIBLE ITS OWN VINDICATOR. ^43 

How many of us, when we weigh ourselves 
by the correct teachings of the Law, the Lord 
gave us, can say, I am one of his true and 
faithful children, and I know him, and I 
know he will take care of me, when the great 
day of reconing comes? How many of us 
presume too much on the clemency of God? 
Will He not the rather hold us the more re- 
sponsible, for the not keeping His Law, given 
us by His Son's apostles, which, when carefully 
studied, is so easy to be obeyed? 

Nothing but sterling purity, will be accepted 
by Him, in the great day of accounts. None, 
but those who have obeyed the Law, and been 
led by it, will be accepted by Him. My 
hearers, do you belong to the Lord? Have 
you confessed his name before men, and have 
you been born, by the holy spirit, into him, 
and are you unfaithful? If so, believe what 
you please, worship him by any human made 
law you please, you cannot escape. Death, his 
unerring messenger, will bring you to him, 
and he will give you just what you have 
lived for, worked for, and loved most in this 
present life. He will not force you to accept, 
nor will he permit you to accept, that which 
you have not loved most in this life. He 
will give to all, exactly what they have worked 
for here, on this earth. 

Next Lecture: "Who will be Saved." 



I 



! THE BIBLE 



Its Own Vindicator. 



Seven Subjects in the Bible Explained 
by Itself. 



/ 



BY C. A. ESTABROOK 



DAYTON, OHIO: 

RNAL BOOK AND JOB PR] 

1i* ^ 



a. 



as n 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 212 984 7 * 



